A Boyhood Dream Fulfilled: Space-Geek Tour of the USA

[Human]

After the tour, the first room I went to was the “Exploring the Planets” exhibition. Of all the exhibitions in the museum, this was the one I spent the most time in. Read the very first post in this trip report: planetary exploration was one of the huge things that made me a space geek in the first place, and even though I’d had an indescribably great time at Johnson and Kennedy, those places were more geared towards crewed spaceflight and the moon. So I was totally in my element in the “Exploring the Planets” room – in fact it once again brought back my boyhood excitement about planetary exploration.









I was pleased to see that in at least some of the exhibits, Pluto was given its rightful place!


I really can’t get enough of this stuff.





I spent many minutes at this interactive touchscreen monitor outlining the history of human exploration of the Solar System. It brought back a lot of happy childhood (and adult) memories, as well as teaching me some things I didn’t know!







My time ended in a large room with a 360 degree full-size display about travelling to, and landing on, various planets and moons.


I was in space-geek paradise! But there was a lot more to come.

 

[Human]

Across from the Planets exhibition was the “Nation of Speed” room. It’s focussed on humanity’s quest for speed on land, water and in the air. I must admit that I don’t exactly consider myself a “rev-head”, but it was still interesting and fascinating in parts, even though I didn’t quite study the exhibits in the same detail as I had in the previous room… Everything you see in these photos is authentic. In other words, for example, that really is Evel Knievel's motorbike and Mario Andretti's car.








After I left this room I had a quick detour, as one does, to touch some meteorites.

 

[Human]

The next stop was the “Destination Moon” room. Was I all mooned out as a result of my time at Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers? Are you kidding?


One of the first things you see after you walk in is Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 Mercury capsule and spacesuit – Shepard was the first American in space in 1961. Not for the first time, I marvelled at how tiny it was. The longest Mercury mission went for over 34 hours – it would have been like being stuck in a small box.



After that came another Gemini capsule: this is Gemini VII, whose astronauts were cooped up in there for 14 days -- which frankly boggles the mind. The display explained that the mission “was primarily medical. They endured experiments regarding food, waste, and sleep”. I assume that’s the sanitised version of what went on up there… I remember Jim Lovell interviewed about this mission and I do recall him saying that after 2 weeks in space the smell inside the Gemini capsule was almost unbearable!


[By the way, the NASA “Gemini” programme is correctly pronounced “Geminee”, not “Gemineye”. If you hear the astronauts and other NASA staff who were involved in the programme interviewed about it, they always pronounce it “Geminee”.]

The final part of the exhibition is the Apollo 11 section. There are three amazing artefacts on display: the Apollo 11 Command Module, Neil Armstrong’s space suit, and actual recovered pieces of the Saturn rocket that fell to earth after the stage separation (thanks to Jeff Bezos who paid for the recovery from deep in the ocean). I can’t believe that this is my third genuine Command Module in a week! (Apollo 14 was in Houston and Apollo 17 was in Florida … or is it the other way around?). Maybe I was possibly a little less awed, a little less emotional than I would have been if I hadn’t been to the other two Space Centers? But still … This is the APOLLO 11 COMMAND MODULE! And NEIL ARMSTRONG’S ACTUAL SPACESUIT WHICH HE WORE ON THE MOON! If I’m not dumbstruck, and emotional, at those things, then I need to hand back my Space Geek passport!










Also on display were a Lunar Module and Gene Cernan’s actual space boots – the last boots to touch the moon, in 1972.



It was good to see that there was substantial space given to the Russian space programme too. This is not something that the NASA Space Centers had done (nor was it part of their brief so this isn’t a criticism).

 

[Human]

The next room I visited was the "One World Connected" room (and no, it was not about the airline alliance!). The theme of the exhibition was communications technology, and how space travel and satellite technology has revolutionised communcation, especially communication between different nations and different parts of the world.





I didn’t spend a huge amount of time in this room, although the display on shortwave radio reminded me of many geeky early mornings I’d spent as a teenager playing with a shortwave radio that I’d saved up for and bought. It was such a thrill hearing radio broadcasts from the other side of the world. Technology has moved on quite a bit since then!



I was also really interested in the small “Earthrise” display. “Earthrise” is the famous and moving photo that astronaut Bill Anders took from the Moon in 1968, and it was a thrill to see the actual camera with which he took the photo.





The exhibition also had a large display on communications satellites, how they have revolutionised the world, and the technology behind them.




I left the room and went to the “Planetarium”, which is actually a large domed cinema. Inside I watched a 25-minute movie on the Solar System; the movie screened up above us, onto the domed ceiling. It was really well done but photography was not permitted during the movie itself.




After the movie it was lunchtime. Given that this whole trip is, in so many ways, an homage to my teenage-boy geekiness, I thought it not inappropriate to yield to my teenage boy appetite, and so I had a pepperoni pizza. The coffee was characteristically disappointing.

 

[Human]

After lunch was all about aviation. First stop was the Wright Brothers display. Pride of place, obviously, was the actual, original 1903 Wright Flyer – the first aeroplane in the world to fly! There was a major display of all things Wright Brothers, including detailed biographical information about their lives.












I did spend quite a bit of time at the Wright Flyer – I was in the presence of yet another amazing piece of history, something that I learned about in school. There it was, in front of me. It was amazing, incredible, fascinating … yet I didn’t feel emotionally moved, like I had with the space stuff. Maybe because this is something that didn’t take place during my lifetime? Maybe because I’m more of a space geek than an aviation geek (though I do consider myself an aviation geek)? Or maybe now was not the time to worry about that, and I should just enjoy the display in my own way without feeling guilty about enjoying it the “right” way and/or psychoanalysing myself? Happily, I chose the latter.

I moved on to another room which was all about early flight (pre- and post- Wright brothers). It contained various early gliders and flying machines which had enjoyed, or not enjoyed, success. Also there were biographies of various people who had played a significant role in early aviation.






Pride of place was the 1909 plane which the Wright Brothers had constructed for, and sold to, the US Military – the first ever aeroplane for military use. Even the fabric was authentic and original.

 

[Human]

The penultimate exhibition was “We All Fly”, which is devoted to civilian and non-commercial aviation in all its forms. This famous ultralight saved an endangered species of geese by teaching them where to fly for their migration!



A couple of other planes in the display:

 

[Human]

Probably the highlight of the afternoon, though, was the “America by Air” exhibition. It was a history of commercial aviation in the USA, and was truly fascinating.



Pride of place was given to the many iconic, history-making aircraft which were hanging or parked: a Boeing 247 from 1933 (generally considered to be the world’s first “modern” airliner), the Douglas DC-3 which was manufactured in a desperate bid to compete with the B247 (they wildly succeeded), a Douglas DC-7 (which I was able to enter) and the nose of a 747-151, which entered service in 1970 and was the first 747 to fly a regular service across the Pacific Ocean. Let’s hope I get this right (and I, too, am annoyed with myself for not taking better photos; I think I was getting tired...):

This is the Boeing 247:


At the top is the DC-3 (and underneath and behind it is a good picture of the B247). It’s on my bucket list to fly in one of these; I think there’s still one in service around Melbourne which flies joy-flights?



The DC-7.





I’m pretty sure that this is the 747.

 

[Human]

I can feel myself running out of puff as I write this, but the other aspect of the “America by Air” exhibition that I really enjoyed were the displays about all aspects of commercial aviation in America, from the early days when commercial aviation was saved by the government decision to deliver mail by air, to the modern days of deregulation and “glass coughpits”.

 

[Human]

Thus endeth my time at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum! I’d basically seen all the displays that were on offer, and after spending too much time and money in the souvenir shop (in my defence, a lot of what I bought were gifts…) I headed out. Despite being fully aware that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing that doesn’t work again and again, I nevertheless decided to catch the bus. As I was waiting at the bus stop I turned and saw this…


And I turned back and saw this…


The bus came and, joy of joys, it was the P6 bus. I boarded and was safely returned to my hotel.


For much of the bus trip I was the only non-African American on board. What struck me was the basic courtesy and humanity that the passengers shared with each other. Many of them greeted each other (including me), and there was always someone on board willing and ready to help other passengers in need (an old lady with a walker, a young lady with a stroller, a man in a wheelchair). It’s not something I see as much on public transport in Australia.

So… the decision is made for me. I will not return to the Air and Space Museum, and I will use my extra day to go to Udvar-Hazy at Dulles. I think that will be tomorrow, but I’ll look at the weather forecast and decide based on what’s the best and worst day to be outdoors.

What was my experience of the museum? Amazing! It might not have quite attained the heights of the Space Centers, but I’m not sure that anything ever will. I had a wonderful, fascinating, interesting, captivating and at times, yes, emotional time at Air & Space. This holiday is not so much the gift that keeps on giving, as the delight that keeps on flowing.

 

[RooFlyer]

I will use my extra day to go to Udvar-Hazy at Dulles

I think that's a good idea.

 

[Coathanger]

The Apollo 11 Command Module was the highlight for me, incredible to see that history right in front of you.

The Cosmonautics Museum in Moscow was a lot of fun when I visited in 2015, with the CCCP branded space suits and a scale model of the Buran shuttle.

 

[Human]

I awoke to discover that the outside temperature was minus 3. This was the picture of the winter-wonderland-slash-bus-depot from my window.


I decided to be brave and catch public transport to Udvar-Hazy, given that doing so would probably save me at least a hundred Australian dollars and possibly closer to $200. Maps was advising walk-train-train-bus. More complex than I would have liked, but I’m trying to do this on the cheap. I found the nearest Metro station after a 9-minute walk that nearly resulted in me sprawled in the ice and snow on at least half a dozen occasions. Once I was on the second train, though, things became a lot more pleasant. It is a Truth Univerally Acknowledged, that almost-empty, off-peak trains during the day in semi-rural Virginia are quite nice.










After the train trip it was an equally pleasant 15-minute bus ride which literally took me to the very entrance of the Udvar-Hazy museum. The bus started out with 2 passengers but for most of the trip I was the only passenger. The total cost of the train and bus together was US$4.75; an Uber would have cost about US$50, not including the almost-mandatory tip.

 

[Human]

The sight that confronted me upon entering was overwhelming, if not intimidating. Wow! Thanks so much to all the AFFers who encouraged me to go – I was seriously considering giving Udvar-Hazy a miss, and I would have missed out on such a treat if I’d done so!





I turned to the information desk to discover that a free tour had started just a couple of minutes beforehand, and that if I ran I could catch it. I did so, and in the end the tour went for almost exactly two hours.

I’ll share a couple of interesting facts that I learned from the tour in my posts below, but one interesting little tid-bit is that the museum came into existence because of the incredibly generous donation of US$60 million from one Steven F. Udvar-Hazy. Upon receipt of the US$60 million, the Smithsonian did the natural thing: it asked for more. The carrot dangled by the Smithsonian was that for an extra US$6 million, the Smithsonian would name the museum after him. He duly coughed up.

The museum consists of three large hangars. The first hangar is the “Aviation” hangar; the second is the “Space” hangar, and the third is the “Restoration” hangar into which the public is not permitted (though I did get a couple of photos from the walkway above it).

After the tour, I took two further laps of the museum: my first lap was from the raised walkway that encircled all the hangars, and my second lap was from ground level. So once again I’ll cover the exhibits thematically; you’ll see some photos from ground level and some from above which I took at different times of the day and which I shall now group together for your fascination and viewing pleasure.

The other thing you’ll see is that I’m not covering about 95% of the exhibits. If I were to cover everything I’d be writing all night. All I can say is this: this place is paradise for space geeks and, especially, aviation geeks. If you are one (or both) of the above, do yourself a favour and get out there!

 

[Human]

Let’s start with the “Aviation” hangar, which is by far the largest of the three hangars (though they’re all huge). As you walk in, to the left are civilian and commercial aircraft, to the right are military aircraft, and pride of place in the centre is a Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird. I don’t know whether I should call this a “Stealth” plane (the tour guide did not), but it sure looks like one to me and it sure is impressive. This is the fastest jet plane ever (there are one or two planes that are faster, but they’re rocket-powered). It can fly at almost Mach 3, and once flew from Los Angeles to Washington DC in 1 hour and 4 minutes.










I spent most of the time in the “civilian” area of the Aviation hangar, with one exception. This is the Enola Gay – the actual plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Talk about history!! For the umpteenth time on this trip, I was overawed. I was in the presence of a major – a huge – piece of history. Of course there is, and there always will be, major debate and disagreement over whether the dropping of the Bomb was justified. The tour guide didn’t weigh into the debate, but he did recount one story. Underneath the Enola Gay is a Japanese warplane from WWII. Some years ago, an ex-Japanese WWII fighter pilot was a guest at the Museum. He insisted that his plane be displayed under the Enola Gay’s wing … because “the Enola Gay saved my life.”







Other aircraft from the military section (and yes, I know: if there are any real military avGeeks reading this, you’re outraged that I’m spending so little time on these planes. My only excuse is that I want to get some sleep tonight…).

 

[Human]

On the “civilian” side of the hangar, there were two aircraft that I was particularly thrilled to see. First, an actual Concorde. I’d never set eyes on one before today (which makes it the 1357th amazing artefact that I have set eyes on for the first time on this trip – but it’s no less exciting!).





Second, this is a Boeing 367-80 from the early 1950s. So why does it have 707 livery? Because the 367-80 was the prototype of the 707, and in fact this was the plane used to sell the 707 to airliners in the 50s when it first came out. I also didn’t know before today that the 367-80 and 707 were the first commercial aeroplanes to use reverse thrust.

What made this particularly exciting for me is the fact that I have a real soft spot for the 707. It’s the first plane that I remember flying in, in 1976 when my family flew in a Qantas 707 to Fiji from Sydney for a holiday. (I think I might have flown in a TAA 727 as an infant, but I have no memory of it). Anyway, I haven’t seen a 707 in a long, long time, and seeing this one (even if it was not an actual 707) brought back happy memories.






Other civilian aircraft from this section … and once again, I apologise for not giving them the detail that they sodeserve:

 

[Human]

A couple of photos of the “Restoration” hangar. This hangar does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s where old aircraft and other artefacts are restored.

 

[Human]

Now for the “Space” hangar. Obviously pride of place goes to the Space Shuttle Discovery. The tour guide said something interesting: he told us that it is quite deliberate that Atlantis, in Florida, is set up as if it’s in orbit (with the cargo bay doors open, for example), and that Discovery, here, is set up in landing configuration (with cargo bay doors closed and landing gear down). Then the intention is to set up the Endeavour, in California, in launch configuration: vertical, with rocket boosters and fuel tank attached. So the three remaining Shuttles are each configured in a different way.





Having seen the Atlantis a few days ago (I still can’t believe I can say that!), I certainly appreciated seeing the Discovery in a different configuration. And yes, it was just as amazing, just as awesome, as the Atlantis was. In Florida at KSC one could get closer to the upper side of the Atlantis; here, I could get closer to the underside of Discovery and examine the landing gear (fun fact: the landing gear used gravity to lower, and once lowered in flight it could not be retracted – the Shuttle was, at that stage, a glider, after all).



Once again, I found the tiles particularly interesting. Of the 22,000 tiles that Atlantis was originally built with, 18,000 are still there. It’s easy to pick the original tiles from the ones that were replacement tiles over the years, because of the darker shade of the newer tiles.



It was also good to get up close to closed cargo bay doors. The hinges were huge!

 

[Human]

Apart from that I found the rest of the “Space” hangar just a tiny bit underwhelming, apart from two things that in their own way blew me away.

First, an unused Mercury capsule. This capsule was built for the final Mercury mission, but the Mercury programme was scrapped in favour of the Gemini programme (test: do you remember how to correctly pronounce “Gemini”?) before this mission was flown. What that means is that this capsule is totally intact: the retro-rockets haven’t been jettisoned, and the parachutes haven’t deployed. It was great to see an “as new” Mercury capsule, which was something I hadn’t seen before despite the fact that I’m as of now an old hand at viewing Mercury capsules!


What else made this interesting was the fact that I’ve seen the very famous – and fantastic – contemporaneous NASA documentary about John Glenn’s Mercury flight which was the first American flight to orbit the earth (Alan Shepard’s and Gus Grissom’s previous flights had been suborbital). If you haven’t seen it, watch it next time you have a spare 58 minutes. I remember first watching it as a primary school student in the 70s and I’ve watched it several times since then. On the flight, a signal from the capsule indicated that the heat shield was loose, potentially meaning that Glenn would burn up on re-entry. The solution proposed by the NASA engineers was for Glenn to not jettison the retro-rockets, in the hope that the straps would give the heat shield a few extra precious seconds before the straps burnt up.

So, I was excited to see the retro-rockets, held to the Mercury capsule by the straps! I spent quite a bit of time examining them and thinking about the documentary of John Glenn’s flight.



The second really interesting artefact was the actual quarantine chamber which the Apollo 11 Astronauts used after their flight. We’ve all seen the famous picture of President Nixon greeting the astronauts in the quarantine chamber! So, once again, gloriously, when I see that photo I can say, “I’ve seen that chamber in real life!”.





My, my, how my passionate space geekiness has come out in this post! Never thought I’d be so excited about straps and quarantine! Glad to see my geekiness is not going anywhere, and at least my kids aren’t anywhere nearby to roll their eyes…

A few other pics from the “Space” Hangar.





This isn’t an actual Command Module, but those are the actual flotation devices used with Apollo 11.

 

[Coathanger]

Glad you made it out to Udvar-Hazy! Hard to top your experiences at Mission Control and watching an actual rocket launch at KSC but this museum is pretty special.

It was incredible to actually see the Enola Gay and a SR-71 up close, along with iconic shapes like the F-14 Tomcat.

The museum has the luxury of space for the exhibits to really shine. IWM Duxford also has an incredible collection of aircraft (including a Concorde and flying Spitfires) but is a bit crowded in the main hall.

 

[Human]

And that was my day at Udvar-Hazy! A few pics of the outside of the museum and from the trip home, which went smoothly although both the bus and trains were a little more crowded:









Once back in my hotel room, I observed a lovely sunset over my Winter Wonderland/Bus Depot.


And had a “take-out” dinner. Note the presence of olives, which does absolutely most definitely categorically mean that it was healthy…


What’s a tiny bit sad is that I’ve now come to the end of the “space geek” part of the trip, unless I visit the Intrepid Museum in NYC. From now on it’s sightseeing and being a “general” tourist. Having said that, there are still some huge, exciting highlights to come…