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| National Air
and Space Museum,
Washington DC
The
Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) maintains
the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is
also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology
of aviation and space flight. Located on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C., the Museum has hundreds of artifacts on display
including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the "Spirit of St.
Louis," Apollo 11 command module, and a Lunar rock sample that
visitors can touch.
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Apollo
11 Command Module |
Apollo
11 CM Interior |
Apollo
11 CM Crew Hatch |
Neil
Armstrong's Apollo 11 Space Suit |
 
John
Glenn's Friendship 7 Mercury Spacecraft
Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. became the
first American to orbit the Earth in this Mercury spacecraft. On February
20, 1962, Glenn circled the Earth three times, in a flight lasting 4 hours
and 55 minutes. Friendship 7 landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Glenn's flight
followed two successful Soviet orbital flights and signaled that the
United States could compete successfully in space. The high-profile drama
of the space race and Glenn's professionalism made him a national hero. |
 
Flight
rated Apollo Lunar Module
This is an actual lunar module
(designation LM-2), one of 12 built for Apollo. Engineers planned to use
this craft in low Earth orbit to test the techniques of separation,
rendezvous, and docking with the command and service module. The second of
two such test vehicles, its orbital mission was cancelled after a
successful flight in an earlier mission. The spacecraft subsequently was
used for ground testing.
The lunar module had two stages. The
descent (lower) stage was equipped with a rocket motor to slow the rate of
descent to the lunar surface. It contained exploration equipment and
remained on the Moon when the astronauts left. The ascent (upper) stage
contained the crew compartment and a rocket motor to return the astronauts
to the orbiting command module. After the crew entered the command module
for the trip back to Earth, the lunar module was released and eventually
crashed into the Moon. |
M2-F3
lifting body test
vehicle with Apollo Soyuz in the background. The docking module is
back-up flight hardware designed and tested jointly by NASA and Soviet
engineers.
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