The Museum of Flight prepares for Grand Opening on Nov. 10

The Museum of Flight is putting the finishing touches on the Space Shuttle Trainer exhibit in the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. The Grand Opening is on November 10th at 11 a.m. Here are some photos we took today watching the preparations!

 

 

For more information on the Grand Opening, visit The Museum of Flight.

 

Asteroid Mining Company Unveiled at Museum of Flight

On April 24, a Bellevue-based company called Planetary Resources unveiled plans to extract platinum, gold and other valuable resources from asteroids. The press conference took place at Seattle's Museum of Flight. Sounding eerily similar to a science-fiction movie, it is no surprise "Avatar" Director James Cameron is among the project's supporters.

Planetary Resources engineers and scientists are at work to fulfill the goal co-founder Eric Anderson put forth at the news conference: to launch the first probes within 24 months. With business people, space buffs, and media in the audience at the Museum of Flight, applause erupted at the exciting direction space exploration is taking.

Anderson said if all goes well, the company could have its first asteroid target identified and ready for mining within a decade.

Planetary Resources aims to use commercially built robotic ships to squeeze rocket fuel and valuable minerals out of the rocks that routinely whiz by Earth.

For more information on this exciting direction of space exploration, read the article from The Seattle Times, which also features this video.

The Museum of Flight in Seattle welcomes first portion of NASA's Space Shuttle Trainer

This morning, as the space shuttle Discovery made its dramatic arrival in Washington D.C., The Museum of Flight in Seattle unveiled the first sections of NASA's Space Shuttle Trainer, three Engine Bells, which will be permanently housed at the Museum’s Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.

Museum of Flight President and CEO Doug King hosted a brief news conference to announce the arrival and to unpack one of the three Engine Bells, which are approximately nine feet in diameter and roughly 800 pounds each. The Shuttle Trainer is being delivered in several stages in the coming months, with the most recognizable portion – the Crew Compartment – tentatively scheduled for delivery on June 16 aboard NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft.

Workers remove one of the three Engine Bells from the Shuttle Trainer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Each Engine Bell is approximately nine feet in diameter and weighs more than 800 pounds. Photo courtesy of NASA.   

Built in the 1970s, the Shuttle Trainer is the only one of its kind in the world and is the simulator in which every space shuttle astronaut trained for space flight. It will be on display in the 15,500-sq.-ft. Charles Simonyi Space Gallery, where it will be joined by a collection of other rare space artifacts including Simonyi’s Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft and interactive exhibits showcasing space travel from the earliest days of the space shuttle program to the future of commercial space. 

See the Seattle PI's story here. Or check out The Seattle Times' take here.  

Museum of Flight Welcomes Charles Simonyi's Soyuz TMA-14 Spacecraft



Today, The Museum of Flight in Seattle welcomed an exciting new space artifact, as Charles Simonyi and representatives from the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, delivered the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. This historic craft will be on permanent loan to the museum from Simonyi and immediately on display in the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.

“Today’s exciting arrival of the Soyuz TMA-14 is a tremendous step toward the completion of the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery, which is now open to the public,” said Museum of Flight President and CEO Doug King. “Having the Soyuz TMA-14 as well as NASA’s Full Fuselage Trainer on display later this year, makes the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery one of the premier aerospace exhibits in the world.”



Soyuz TMA-14 arriving to the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery

Simonyi, a high-tech pioneer and philanthropist as well as renowned space traveler, trained in the Soyuz TMA-14 during his preparatory time at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He then traveled to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-14, on March 26, 2009. The module stayed at the International Space Station (ISS) for the duration of Expedition 20, the 20^th long-duration flight to the ISS and the first time a six-member crew inhabited the station. Simonyi returned to Earth in the Soyuz TMA-13 on April 8, 2009 and the TMA-14 remained at the ISS until Oct. 11, 2009 when it safely returned home.

“It is my pleasure to share the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft with The Museum of Flight and the thousands of people who will visit the Space Gallery each year,” said Simonyi. “I am grateful to have had the privilege to travel into space aboard this capsule and hope that the exhibit will inspire the next generation of space explorers.”

The 15,500-sq.-ft. Charles Simonyi Space Gallery will be home to the Soyuz TMA-14 and NASA’s Full Fuselage Trainer as well as other various rare space artifacts and interactive exhibits showcasing space travel from the earliest days of the space shuttle program to the future of commercial space. The Full Fuselage Trainer, in which every space shuttle astronaut has trained, will arrive at Boeing Field aboard the NASA Super Guppy aircraft. Due to the trainer’s size, it will be delivered in several different stages beginning in May.

Charles Simonyi with the Soyuz TMA-14 Spacecraft

About The Museum of Flight

The independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, attracting more than 400,000 visitors annually. The museum’s collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the Red Barn®—the original manufacturing facility of The Boeing Co. The museum’s aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 100,000 individuals are served annually by the museum’s on-site and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Associations of Museums, and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. For more information on The Museum of Flight, visit www.museumofflight.org.

About Charles Simonyi
Charles Simonyi is a high-tech pioneer and philanthropist as well as a space traveler. He was the architect of Microsoft Word, Excel and other widely-used application programs. He left Microsoft to found Intentional Software, which aims to develop and market computer software for knowledge processing. His passion for science and for space has led him to travel into space twice aboard Soyuz spacecraft, becoming the fifth space tourist and the first ever tourist to fly twice.

Museum of Flight Names New Space Gallery in Honor of Charles Simonyi

On Thursday, Dec. 8, the Museum of Flight announced its new state-of-the-art, 15,500-square-foot space gallery will be named the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery in honor of Charles Simonyi, two-time space traveler, architect of Microsoft Word and founder of Intentional Software in Bellevue. Simonyi, who gifted $3 million to the $12 million building, also announced on Thursday that he is giving MOF - on a long-term loan - the Soyuz TMA-13 rocket module that carred him back from space in 2009, on his second trip to the International Space Station. Along with the Soyuz, Simonyi will be donating a space toilet and other artifacts that were part of his well documented and much followed trips to space.

Charles Simonyi and his wife, Lisa Persdotter Simonyi, after the
unveiling of the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery sign

"This imposing new Charles Simonyi Space Gallery could not have become a reality without Dr. Simonyi's continued support for The Museum of Flight and his vision about what our future can hold," said Doug King, President and CEO of The Museum of Flight. "While we are grateful for his monetary contribution, we truly named the space gallery in honor of Charles to recognize his commitment to aerospace education and his tireless enthusiasm for inspiring the next generation of space explorers."

The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery will be the home of the Full-Fuselage Space Shuttle Trainer (FFT), which will be delivered in NASA's Guppy airplane in various stages, beginning in June. The FFT is only one of its kind in the world and is the simulator in which every space shuttle astronaut trained for space flight. In addition to the Shuttle Trainer and the Soyuz module, there will be other rare space artifacts, both permanent and on tour - all part of this premier Space Gallery, to engage the next generation of scientists and engineers through hands-on learning.

Charles Simonyi in one of the many artifacts he loans
 to The Museum of Flight, his spacesuit

"The naming of the space gallery is a great honor for me and for my family," said Simonyi. "I have the highest regard for The Museum of Flight and now that we are at the threshold of a great expansion of civilian spaceflight, I fully support the Museum's efforts to engage the public on the issue of space exploration with a focus on civilian space: past, present and future."

"We are so honored by Charles' generosity," said MOF Chairman of the Board, Michael Hallman, himself a major donor. "His level of monetary and intellectual commitment will help to propel this Museum into an exciting future of continued leadership in educating and inspiring legions of young people to pursue and live their dreams."

The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery dedication was the beginning of a three-day experience at The Museum of Flight, followed by the 2011 Future Forum hosted by NASA on Friday, which featured panel discussions covering everything from innovation and discovery to commercial partnerships, education in space flight, and more. In addition, the space gallery was open to the public on Saturday to provide a sneak peek of what the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery will feature when it officially opens in June 2012, after the delivery of the Full Fuselage Space Shuttle Trainer. The doors of the space gallery will continue to be open to the public to view the future site of space artifacts. For more information on the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery hours of operation, please visit The Museum of Flight's website.