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| NASM Udvar-Hazy Center | |
|---|---|
| Name | Udvar-Hazy Center |
| Established | 2003 |
| Location | Chantilly, Virginia |
| Type | Aviation and space museum |
| Director | David V. F. Prater |
NASM Udvar-Hazy Center
The Udvar-Hazy Center is a Smithsonian Institution-affiliated aviation and space museum located near Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. It serves as the companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, providing large-hangar exhibition space for artifacts such as the Enola Gay, the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Concorde, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The center supports research and preservation activities that interface with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution Archives, the National Air and Space Museum Archives, and international partners including the Royal Air Force Museum and the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace.
Built to address overcrowding on the National Mall and to house oversized aircraft transferred from the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility, the Udvar-Hazy Center opened in 2003 under the direction of museum officials including John R. Dailey and curators from the Smithsonian Institution. The facility was funded through a public-private partnership that included philanthropist Steven F. Udvar-Hazy and oversight from the National Capital Planning Commission and the United States Congress. Its opening followed debates involving stakeholders such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and community groups in Fairfax County, Virginia. Over time, the center has curated gifts and loans from entities like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, NASA, and the United States Air Force, and it has hosted exhibitions tied to anniversaries of events including the Apollo 11 mission and the Battle of Britain commemorations.
The complex comprises the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar and a 300,000-square-foot public display hangar designed by architects associated with firms like Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum and engineers collaborating with the Federal Aviation Administration for siting near Washington Dulles International Airport. The design accommodates runway sightlines and safety requirements connected to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and features climate control systems reflecting standards used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for artifact preservation. The campus includes conservation laboratories equipped to Museum Assessment Program levels recommended by the American Alliance of Museums, storage vaults modeled on protocols from the Canadian Conservation Institute, and visitor infrastructure coordinated with Fairfax County transit planning and the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
The center's holdings span early aviation artifacts donated by collectors associated with the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the Mike Melvill Collection through Cold War systems from the United States Navy, United States Air Force, and NATO partners such as Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. Iconic exhibits include the Enola Gay B-29 Superfortress, the Space Shuttle Discovery orbiter, the British Airways Concorde, the Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird and prototypes from Boeing like the Boeing 747 cockpit sections. Other highlighted artifacts are the Bell X-1 rocket plane associated with Chuck Yeager, prototypes from Sikorsky Aircraft and Curtiss-Wright, and helicopters representative of designs by Igor Sikorsky and Frank Piasecki. The center also displays missiles and rockets from NASA programs, avionics suites from General Electric and Honeywell International Inc., and personal items linked to aviators such as Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong, and Yuri Gagarin. Rotating exhibits have explored themes connected to Wright Flyer technology, Apollo-era engineering, and transatlantic passenger services exemplified by the Air France and British Overseas Airways Corporation collections.
Restoration activities are conducted in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar by staff trained in techniques from the Smithsonian Conservation Institute and the Federal Aviation Administration-listed repair standards. The conservation team collaborates with specialists from Lockheed, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and academic partners at institutions such as George Washington University and Virginia Tech to undertake structural stabilization, corrosion control, and historical finishes research. High-profile projects have included structural restoration of the Enola Gay and composite work on the Space Shuttle Discovery heat shield materials, following methodologies informed by precedents at the Paul E. Garber Preservation Facility and international guidelines from the International Council of Museums.
Educational programming integrates curriculum frameworks used by Smithsonian Affiliations and outreach partnerships with organizations like the Civil Air Patrol, Experimental Aircraft Association, and the Air and Space Forces Association. The center hosts school programs aligned with standards from the Common Core State Standards Initiative and STEM initiatives supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation. Public events include lectures by historians affiliated with the National Museum of American History and scholars from universities such as MIT, Stanford University, and University of Maryland, plus workshops conducted with veterans from units including the 332d Fighter Group and astronauts associated with Johnson Space Center. Seasonal programs and special exhibitions often feature artifacts on loan from the Museum of Flight, the Pima Air & Space Museum, and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
Operational oversight is provided by the Smithsonian Institution and supported by volunteers coordinated through the Smithsonian Volunteer Office and the National Park Service when cross-museum events occur on the National Mall. Visitor amenities follow accessibility guidelines from the Americans with Disabilities Act and include docent tours, an observation tower, an education center, and onsite conservation viewing areas. The center coordinates transportation links with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and parking managed in cooperation with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Major loans and deaccession decisions follow policies established by the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents and are communicated through channels including the National Air and Space Museum Archives.
Category:Aerospace museums in Virginia Category:Smithsonian museums