NASM Annex Celebrates First Year

The National Air and Space Museum is throwing a special first anniversary celebration Saturday, Dec. 11, at its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to thank visitors who have made the Chantilly, VA facility the state's most popular museum site.

The Udvar-Hazy (pronounced OOD-var HAH-zee) Center, a companion to the Smithsonian museum's flagship building on the National Mall in Washington, has welcomed more than 1.6 million people since it opened on December 15th, 2003.

A highlight of the next month's anniversary celebration will be the rare joint appearance by the two men who commanded space shuttle Enterprise: veteran astronauts Fred Haise (Apollo 13) and Joe Engle (shuttle missions STS-2 and STS-51I). Enterprise, used for approach and landing tests in the 1970s, is the centerpiece of the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, which has been accessible to Udvar-Hazy Center visitors since Nov. 1. Haise and Engle will discuss their storied careers and greet the public throughout the day.

The museum will also offer free tickets to the newest edge-of-your-seat IMAX flight film, "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag," whose opening at the Udvar-Hazy Center coincides with the celebration. A free showing will be held at 1030 local. A limited number of free passes to other showings will be distributed during the day.

Anniversary festivities also will include holiday performances by Northern Virginia high school bands, behind-the-scenes presentations by restoration specialists, prize giveaways, a space-themed parade for visitors in costume, "storytimes" for children, meet-the-curator opportunities, book signings, holiday shopping in the museum store and free birthday cake.

"So much goes into creating an experience like the Udvar-Hazy Center, but only the public can tell us whether we've done it right," museum director Gen. J.R. "Jack" Dailey said. "This is our way of showing how much we appreciate the remarkable support we've received."

In time for the celebration, an additional 21 aircraft will be added to the original 82 displayed in the Udvar-Hazy Center's huge aviation hanger. The new arrivals include the Westland Lysander IIIA airplane, used for ferrying secret agents in and out of enemy territory during World War II; and the Bell H-13J, which, in 1957, became the first helicopter to carry a US president, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Also new are a dozen interactive kiosks that allow visitors to explore in detail, in seamless 360-degree views, the exteriors and interiors of the center's aircraft and large space artifacts.

The facility is the subject of a new lavishly illustrated book, "Building America's Hangar: The Design and Construction of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center," by Lin Ezell, who will be signing copies on Dec. 11.

The McDonnell Space Hangar features 112 large space artifacts in addition to the recently refurbished Enterprise, including a floor-to-ceiling Redstone missile, the Gemini VI spacecraft and a giant ring segment from a Saturn V rocket that was never built. An array of cruise missiles, satellites and space telescopes are suspended from the hangar's trusses.

The aviation hangar is home to some of the museum's largest aircraft, including a Concorde, the "Dash 80" original prototype for the Boeing 707, the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and the Boeing 307 Stratoliner?all displayed at floor-level. Lighter aircraft are suspended from above and can be viewed up close from rising "skywalks."

Thousands of smaller artifacts, including models, cameras, engines, armament and popular culture collections, are exhibited throughout the Udvar-Hazy Center.

The displays in the aviation and space hangars will continue to grow in coming years, with the center eventually housing some 200 aircraft and 200 large space artifacts.

A second phase of construction, including a restoration hangar, archives and storage facility, is planned and will move forward based on fund-raising. The first phase of Udvar-Hazy Center construction was funded by private sources only.

Although admission to the center is free, there is a $12 fee for parking. The museum operates a shuttle bus between its building on the National Mall and the Udvar-Hazy Center. A roundtrip ticket for the shuttle bus is $7 (the price will increase to $12 as of Jan. 1, 2005), with discounts available for groups.

The public's tremendous interest in the Udvar-Hazy Center led to some delays for visitors arriving during the first days of operation. Long waits have since been alleviated in part because of additional parking and an expanded information system that includes additional signs on area roadways and a new low-watt AM radio station.

FMI: www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy