[Fhgzmftq]

I'm really kicking myself in the teeth. [Hmmm, is that applause I hear? :-)]
On my recent 6 weeks world jaunt, I failed to put this great Museum in my Itinerary...Damn!!!!


Where else in the world would you find something as significant and as awesome as this place......
Columbia, the Apollo 11 capsule in which Armstrong and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made their historic voyage in July 1969, enjoys pride of place in the foyer of the museum in Washington.

It rubs shoulders with Friendship 7, in which John Glenn orbited Earth three times in February 1962, and Gemini IV, from which Edward White conducted the first American space walk in June 1965.

Inside a small pedestal is a smooth black chunk of moon rock that you can touch. From the rafters hangs the Spirit of Saint Louis, in which Charles Lindbergh made the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in May 1927.

from...
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-apollo-...-memories.html
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It also exhibits a section on "Time and Navigation" and the history of how we navigate at sea, in the air and in space

Has anyone else visited this Museum?

What did you think?

[Xibizopt]

I'll certainly have this on my itinerary next year. [after I check with the Mrs]

[mealiusarses]

Will add to my "bucket list". The Smithsonian has an excellent website: http://www.si.edu/

[nvmrfgopyy]

Been on my bucket list for a long time. My parents went there in the late 1990s. Spent half a day there and felt they'd barely scratched the surface. Took a shed-load of photos for me and my brother.

[Bymnbypeten]

I was very lucky to go there in about 2001 I think.*

Soooo much history and quality there it's hard to know where to start. I would have taken more photos but I only had one of the early-ish digital cameras back then and could only take a limited number of photos before the memory card was filled.

Here's a few I took anyway ...



Self explanatory, the hatch from the Apollo 11 Command Module.





Dave Scott, Commander of Apollo 15, has his lunar suit there. It's covered in lunar dust.








The mighty Rocketdyne F1 rocket engine, one of the five in the first stage. I reckon the open end of the bell was big enough for about three of me to stand up in. I'm not sure but I think the engine on display is one of the centre engines as some of the fluid lines had bellows, which would allow the engine to pivot around for thrust vectoring.
They also had a Moon rock embedded in a pedestal there, I touched it. So I'm lucky enough to have touched a piece of the Moon.



* We were supposed to do a charter from from Dulles, in Washington, back to Manchester for the UK Ministry of Defence. It was a one-way flight and the 747 was already over in the US so the entire 747 crew (3 flight crew and 15 cabin crew) were put on a British Midlands flight across the Atlantic the day before to start the flight the next day.
Woke up in the morning and was having breakfast, the Captain walked over with a big grin on his face.
I knew that grin.
"Whut?"
"Got some good news and got some bad news."
The good news was that the charter was still on, the bad news was that someone in the office had stuffed-up and the charter was on that day ..... next month. So they booked us another ticket (at substantial expense) back to Manchester later than day. The Captain was Canadian but knew the area a little and suggested that we pop over to have a look through the Smithsonian.
So I got a lovely company-paid trip from my base in Manchester to the Smithsonian and back.

[medio]

Self explanatory, the hatch from the Apollo 11 Command Module.

With the colours and gears that almost looks like steam punk art. I would like it on my wall.

[TamreuddyRada]

I spent 3 days there in 1968 with my father. Couldn't walk another step by the end of it. An amazing collection.
Of course there was no Apollo 11 stuff, but there was a re-entry capsule from an earlier mission and IIRC you could climb inside it. It was quite a small thing.

[Fouttysotlalf]

I spent 3 days there in 1968 with my father. Couldn't walk another step by the end of it. An amazing collection.
Of course there was no Apollo 11 stuff, but there was a re-entry capsule from an earlier mission and IIRC you could climb inside it. It was quite a small thing.

1967 for me and yes the aviation section was our main goal.
We'd lived near Houston, so got caught up in all those current events

it was fabulous, even the parts we went into by accident.

I'm told it has suffered from ongoing budget cuts but not sure in what ways

[TheLucyLee]

They also have the 11 ft model of the USS Enterprise that was used in the original TV series.

[Ebjjrxrd]

they don't have much about Tesla though as the "opposition" is a big sponsor of the museum. politics.

;-)

[Qxkmsxsx]

I'm really kicking myself in the teeth. [Hmmm, is that applause I hear? :-)]
On my recent 6 weeks world jaunt, I failed to put this great Museum in my itinerary

I feel your pain. Did the same touring Europe. Saw lots of great stuff but then got back home and started on the "d'oh, why didn't I go there? How could I have forgotten that?"

P

[HootSnori]

If you visit the NASM, you have to also visit the Uder-Hazy annex out at Dulles airport.

I'll upload some of the images I took.

[prmnwoks]

I feel your pain. Did the same touring Europe. Saw lots of great stuff but then got back home and started on the "d'oh, why didn't I go there? How could I have forgotten that?"

P

I'll be returning next year...

[gariharrr]

[mylittlejewelaa]

The Uder-Hazy annex

[Nicihntm]

[VanDerSmok]

[viagraman]

Are those aircraft the real thing, or are they replicas?

[texbrease]

All real.