National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Road Trip Day 43)

The National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia is one of the twenty-two Smithsonian museums. We were there when the doors opened at 10:00am and spent much of the day checking out the 23 different display areas which cover vertical flight, sport aviation, general aviation, business aviation, commercial aviation, pre-1920 aviation, World War II aviation, Korea and Vietnam, Cold War aviation, modern military aviation, aerobatic flight, World War II German aviation, Ultralight aircraft, Interwar military aviation, human spaceflight, space science, applications satellites, and rockets and missiles.

A little bit of something for everyone interested at all in aircraft or the space program.

Add to all the displays the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar where items for the museum displays are restored. We could look down into the restoration hangar from the second floor and see people working on multiple projects.

I took more than forty photos! Fortunately, I am not going to post all of them. After a while, my head was spinning. I will say that the recommendation to see the museum was spot on for Joe and me. It is a go at your own pace and the parking was $15 for the day. There is no cost to enter the museum. 

Joe pushed me around in a free on-site wheelchair. My leg is healing from the fall I took earlier in the week while climbing into the tent. The vastness of the place meant we would not have been able to see all the displays before the museum closed if I walked and rested. There are seats built into the barriers around the displays so that people can rest. Joe did not take advantage of the seats and logged over eight thousand steps for the day.

So, without further ado here are the photos.

Let's start with toys! The museum has several glass display cases with toys that have been inspired by the space program. I took photos of Space Barbies, Star Trek and Star Wars dolls.

And the other thing often on my mind is... FOOD.

We have dried veggies in our traveling food that was most likely inspired by astronaut food. I think the candies in the photo above look like plain M&Ms.

Since the restoration area was a highlight for us, here are a few photos from the area.

When I first entered the museum, my eye caught all of the planes suspended in the air. 

This a Sport Wings Valkyrie 

Gemini Paraglider Wing (NASA)

Two planes were so big and the camera could not begin to capture their size. The lighting also didn't help. One plane was the Concorde (all Concorde's are retired from flight) and the other was the the Blackbird. The Blackbird on display was used by Lt. Col. Joseph Vida to set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour and 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

Another plane on display that was used to set a record, Glamorous Glennis. Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, USAF, piloted the Bell X-1 which became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound, Mach 1, on October 14, 1947.

In the aircraft category, my final photo is of the Enola Gay.

Enola Gay - Boeing B-29 Superfortress dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. 

Moving into space:

Discovery space shuttle orbitor

John Glenn's training couch used to test "g "forces on the human body during Project Mercury. A plaster cast was made of the astronaut' body in a sitting position, than that form was used to make the couch out of fiberglass.

Disposable Absorption Containment Truck developed for female astronauts on early shuttle flights to wear during launch or spacewalks. 

Mercury Capsule "Big Joe"

Launched on September 9, 1959 its suborbital flight lasted 13 minutes. Its internal design was different from the manned version, but its success paved the way for the beginning of manned Mercury launches in 1961 (information from the placard in the museum).

Today we also tackled laundry. We are getting the hang of laundromats.