National Air and Space Museum

National Air and Space Museum
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Name	National Air and Space Museum
Location	Washington, D.C.
Founder	United States Congress

National Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Institution operates the museum, which is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., near the United States Capitol and the Washington Monument. The museum is one of the most visited in the world, with over 7 million visitors annually, and is also a research center, working with institutions like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration. The museum's collection includes historic aircraft and spacecraft, such as the Wright Flyer, the Apollo 11 command module, and the Hubble Space Telescope test unit, which was developed by NASA and Lockheed Martin.

● History

The museum was established by an act of the United States Congress in 1946, with the support of President Harry S. Truman and Charles Lindbergh. The museum's first director was Jerome C. Hunsaker, a renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, who worked closely with Orville Wright and Amelia Earhart. The museum's early collections included artifacts from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the United States Army Air Forces, including the B-29 Superfortress and the P-51 Mustang, which were used during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces and the Royal Air Force. The museum has also worked with other institutions, such as the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the United States Naval Aviation Museum, to develop its collections and exhibitions.

● Collections

The museum's collections include over 60,000 artifacts, including historic aircraft, spacecraft, and related items, such as the Spirit of St. Louis, the X-15, and the Mercury Friendship 7 spacecraft, which was flown by John Glenn and developed by NASA and McDonnell Aircraft. The museum also has an extensive collection of Orville and Wilbur Wright's papers and artifacts, including the Wright brothers' Flyer, which was the first powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, and was developed with the support of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The museum's collections also include artifacts from the Soviet space program, such as the Vostok 1 spacecraft, which carried Yuri Gagarin into space, and the Luna 2 spacecraft, which impacted the Moon in 1959. The museum has also acquired artifacts from the European Space Agency, such as the Ariane 1 rocket, and the Canadian Space Agency, such as the Canadarm robotic arm.

● Exhibitions

The museum's exhibitions include the Golden Age of Aviation, which features aircraft from the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Charles Lindbergh-flown Spirit of St. Louis and the Amelia Earhart-flown Lockheed Vega. The museum also has an exhibition on the Apollo program, which includes the Apollo 11 command module and the Apollo 13 command module, which was developed by NASA and North American Aviation. The museum's exhibitions also include the How Things Fly gallery, which explains the principles of flight, and the Looking at Earth gallery, which features artifacts and images from the Landsat and Terra satellite programs, which were developed by NASA and the United States Geological Survey. The museum has also developed exhibitions in collaboration with other institutions, such as the National Museum of the United States Navy and the United States Air Force Museum.

● Facilities

The museum's main building, which was designed by Gyo Obata, is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., near the United States Capitol and the Washington Monument. The museum also has a second location, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is located near Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, and features a large collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle Discovery and the Concorde. The museum's facilities also include the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility, which is located in Suitland, Maryland, and is used to store and conserve the museum's collections, with the support of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress.

● Education_and_Research

The museum offers a range of educational programs, including the National Air and Space Museum's STEM Education Program, which provides educational resources and activities for students and teachers, in collaboration with institutions such as the National Science Foundation and the NASA Education Office. The museum also offers research fellowships and internships, which provide opportunities for students and scholars to work with the museum's collections and staff, including the National Air and Space Museum's Research Fellowship Program and the Smithsonian Institution's Internship Program. The museum's research programs also include the Aeronautics and Astronautics Institute, which is a professional organization for aerospace engineers and scientists, and the International Council of Museums, which is a global organization of museums and museum professionals.

● Conservation_and_Restoration

The museum has a conservation and restoration program, which is responsible for the care and preservation of the museum's collections, including the Wright Flyer and the Apollo 11 command module, which are preserved with the support of the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. The museum's conservators and restorers work to preserve the museum's artifacts, using techniques such as radiocarbon dating and X-ray computed tomography, which are also used by institutions such as the Getty Conservation Institute and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The museum also collaborates with other institutions, such as the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the United States Naval Aviation Museum, to develop conservation and restoration techniques and to share best practices, including the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.