Udvar-Hazy Center
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The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
(NASM)'s annex at
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in the Chantilly area of
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. It holds numerous exhibits, including the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'', the '' Enola Gay'', and the Boeing 367-80, the main prototype for the popular
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...
airliner. The facility was made possible by a $65 million donation in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by Steven F. Udvar-Házy, an immigrant from Hungary and co-founder of the International Lease Finance Corporation, an aircraft leasing corporation. The main NASM building, located on the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
in Washington, D.C., had always contained more artifacts than could be displayed, and most of the collection had been stored, unavailable to visitors, at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Silver Hill,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. A substantial addition to the center encompassing restoration, conservation and collection-storage facilities was completed in 2010. Restoration facilities and museum archives were moved from the museum's Garber facility to the new sections of the Udvar-Hazy Center.


Architecture and facilities

Designed by Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum, who also designed the
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
building, the Center required 15 years of preparation and was built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co.Triplett, W. "Hold everything!" ''Smithsonian''. Vol. 34, December 2003, p. 59. The exhibition areas comprise two large
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s, the
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The Donald D. Engen Observation Tower provides a view of landing operations at adjacent Washington Dulles International Airport. The museum also contains an
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
theater. A
taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...
connects the museum to the airport. An expansion of the Udvar-Hazy Center is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials. On December 2, 2008, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center received a gift of $6 million for phase two from
Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
Americas Inc. — the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008. The wing includes: * The Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar — spacious enough to accommodate several aircraft at one time with a second-floor viewing area designed to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look. * Archives — the foremost collection of documentary records of the history, science and technology of aeronautics and space flight will be housed in a single location for the first time, providing researchers with ample space and equipment. * The Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory — provides conservators much-needed space to develop and execute specialized preservation strategies for artifacts. * Collections processing unit — a dedicated loading dock and specially designed secure area for initial inspection and analysis of artifacts. A further expansion of the collections center was approved in December 2016. The addition will be made up of three additional storage modules on the south side of the building.


Collection

The center was opened on December 15, 2003. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
, including: * The '' Enola Gay'', the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the Bo ...
which dropped the first
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
on Hiroshima, Japan * The orbital spacecraft Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' was put on public display in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar on April 19, 2012, replacing the atmospheric test vehicle, Space Shuttle ''Enterprise''. * A first-generation tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) that hangs directly above ''Discovery'' * The
Gemini 4 Gemini 4 (officially Gemini IV) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the second crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth crewed American spaceflight (in ...
space capsule * The ''
Friendship 7 Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) was the first crewed American orbital spaceflight, which took place on February 20, 1962. Piloted by astronaut John Glenn and operated by NASA as part of Project Mercury, it was the fifth human spaceflight, preceded by Sov ...
'' space capsule * '' Spirit of Columbus'', flown in 1964 by Jerrie Mock to become the first woman to fly solo around the world * A
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...
reconnaissance aircraft * An
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
supersonic airliner * A United States Air Force Lockheed C-121 Constellation, the military version of the
Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first civil airliner family to enter widespread use equipped with a pressurized cab ...
("Connie") airliner * The Boeing 367-80 ("Dash-80") jet transport, which was the prototype for the
KC-135 The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...
tanker and the 707 airliner * The only surviving Bell XV-15 experimental tiltrotor craft * A PGM-11 Redstone rocket * A SAM-N-2 Lark like the one which scored the first successful United States surface-to-air missile interception of a flying target * The only surviving Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger, the USAAS's first messenger aircraft * The Langley Aerodrome A, an early attempt at powered flight by Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley * The Northrop N-1 experimental aircraft * The only surviving Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the ex-
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
''Clipper Flying Cloud'' * One of two surviving German Heinkel He 219 ''Uhu''
night fighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter aircraft, fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during pe ...
s * The only surviving German
Dornier Do 335 The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' (Arrow) is a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unusual push-pull configuration and the l ...
''Pfeil'' fighter * The only surviving German Horten Ho 229 prototype flying wing jet fighter/
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
* The only surviving German Arado Ar 234 ''Blitz'' jet bomber * The only surviving German Horten H.VI flying wing aircraft * One of three surviving German
Bachem Ba 349 The Bachem Ba 349 Natter () is a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor aircraft, interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After a vertical take-off, which eliminated the n ...
''Natter'' rocket-powered interceptors * The only surviving Japanese Nakajima J1N1-S ''Gekko'' * The only surviving Japanese Aichi M6A1 ''Seiran'' * The only surviving Japanese Kyushu J7W ''Shinden'' * One of four surviving Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighters * One of two surviving
Boeing P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" is the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in 1 ...
fighters * A Bede BD-5, single-seat, home-built aircraft that was somewhat popular in the 1970s (5J version is the smallest crewed jet aircraft) * The Beck-Mahoney ''Sorceress'', known as the "winningest" racing biplane in aviation history * A British
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
fighter * A Japanese balloon bomb like the one that killed six U.S. civilians in Oregon during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
*
Lockheed Martin X-35 The Lockheed Martin X-35 is a concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) developed by Lockheed Martin for the Joint Strike Fighter program. The X-35 was declared the winner over the competing Boeing X-32 and a developed, armed version went on to enter ...
Joint Strike Fighter Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlan ...
, prototype of the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
* A balloon of the soviet Vega probes to Venus, the first aircraft flown in another planet *
Grumman F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...
fighter involved in the Gulf of Sidra incident (1989). * The '' Gossamer Albatross'', which was the first man-powered aircraft to fly across the English Channel * The primary special-effects miniature of the "Mothership" used in the filming of '' Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' * The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer piloted by Steve Fossett for the first solo nonstop and nonrefueled circumnavigation of Earth * The first aircraft operated by
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, a Dassault Falcon 20 * A piece of fabric from the LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' that survived the ''Hindenburg'' disaster. * Universal's filming model of the LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' from ''The Hindenburg''. * Mercury-Atlas 10 unused
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
spacecraft * U.S. Coast Guard Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard helicopter * A Sikorsky JRS-1 twin-engine aircraft, one of only three surviving aircraft from the
Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
* A Launch Entry Suit * A Vought RF-8 Crusader reconnaissance aircraft * A McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II fighter * A Soviet
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...
fighter * The
NASA Pathfinder The NASA Pathfinder and NASA Pathfinder Plus were the first two aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of Solar energy, solar- and fuel cell, fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). AeroVironment, AeroVironment, I ...
, an early solar powered aircraft * A Piasecki PV-2
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
* A French Caudron G.4 bomber * A German
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...
F fighter/bomber * A British Westland Lysander Army cooperation aircraft * A CASA 352L transport * A Republic F-105D Thunderchief
fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
* A
Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
fighter * Darryl Greenamyer's Grumman F8F Bearcat "Conquest I" racing aircraft * The North American P-51C Mustang "Excalibur III" fighter * A North American F-86 Sabre fighter * A
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
fighter * A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter * A Soviet
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "''Balalaika''", because its planf ...
"Fishbed" fighter * A Beechcraft Bonanza * A
Beechcraft Model 18 The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beechcraft, Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 ...
* A
Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first heli ...
helicopter * A Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter * A Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter * A Boeing-Stearman Model 75 biplane
trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
* A Grumman A-6E Intruder
ground-attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...
* A Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk fighter * A Vought F4U-1D Corsair fighter * A
Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...
* A Grumman G-22 Gulfhawk II * An Aeronca C-2
ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...
* The Stanley Nomad glider * An Arrow Sport A2 * A Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 communications satellite, previously a ground spare for
Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...
* The
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is an international research effort that obtained digital elevation models on a near-global scale from 56th parallel south, 56°S to 60th parallel north, 60°N, to generate the most complete high-resol ...
payload that flew on STS-99. * Bob Hoover's Shrike Commander * Gondola of Breitling Orbiter 3, the first balloon to fly around the world non-stop * Gondola C-49 of Goodyear Blimp ''Columbia'' (N4A), class GZ-20, and Gondola of Goodyear ''Pilgrim'' *A Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ''kamikaze'' aircraft * A Pegasus XL air-launched rocket. * A General Atomics MQ-1 Predator which was one of the first three UAVs to fly combat missions over Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks * Foam 331, an Oshkosh airport crash tender which was among the emergency vehicles which responded to
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
after it was attacked on 9/11 The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, and 169 aircraft and 152 large space artifacts were on display as of May 2012; plans called for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft. The current list is maintained at th
Objects On Display
page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site.


Events

A number of events are held at the museum throughout the year. These include lectures, book signings, sleepovers, and events for children. Some of the museum's larger events include Air & Scare for Halloween, an open house, and Innovations in Flight: Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display.


Media appearances

The center made its first media appearance in the 2009 film '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen''. The center remained open while filming took place, although certain areas were closed.


Gallery

File:DiscoveryUdvarHazy.jpg, The Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' File:Enola gay 20040710 170220 1.4.jpg, The '' Enola Gay'' File:SR71ZBlackbird.JPG, A Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird File:Gemini VII capsule.tif, The Gemini VII space capsule File:Concorde F-BVFA.JPG, An
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
F-BVFA File:Dash80 large.jpg, From top to bottom: Grumman G-22 Gulfhawk II,
Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...
, North American P-51C Mustang, Boeing 367-80, and Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross. File:North American P-51D Mustang Willit Run? at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 3 February 2024.jpg, The
National Air And Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
's P-51D Mustang ''Willit Run?'', undergoing restoration work at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center after being temporarily moved from the DC museum while the latter was being renovated. File:Spirit of Columbus in Udvar-Hazy Center, February 2015.JPG, In 1964 Jerrie Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world. Her plane, the '' Spirit of Columbus'', hangs in the Center.


See also

* List of aerospace museums


References


External links

* {{authority control 2003 establishments in Virginia Aerospace museums in Virginia Museums established in 2003 Museums in Fairfax County, Virginia Smithsonian Institution museums Space Shuttle tourist attractions Dulles International Airport