BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- GeneralDC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General:
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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
SIAIR_230919_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2023_09_19B3_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (1 photo from 09/19/2023)
SIAIR_230730_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2023_07_30C5_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (13 photos from 07/30/2023)
SIAIR_230730_34.JPG: This is where the little observatory had been before the renovation.
SIAIR_230630_05.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2023_06_30C4_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (9 photos from 06/30/2023)
SIAIR_230630_39.JPG: Stray cat
SIAIR_230613_09.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2023_06_13F3_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (2 photos from 06/13/2023)
SIAART_230108_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2023_DC_SIAIR_Artley DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Personal: Steve and Jennifer Artley visit (10 photos from 2023)
SIAART_230108_06.JPG: Jennifer Artley
SIAART_230108_13.JPG: Jennifer Artley, Steve Artley
SIAART_230108_19.JPG: The little girl tried to give Steve advice on how to play the game but her mother stopped her.
SIAIR_230108_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2023_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (21 photos from 2023) Lots of charging stations including in the arm rests.
SIAIR_230108_27.JPG: Tinkle Time
In space, without the familiar pull of gravity, astronauts don't get the urge to urinate -- so bathroom breaks are scheduled throughout the day.
SIAIR_230108_32.JPG: Evacuation Station
International Space Station (ISS) Toilet
Urine Collection Device
This vacuum tube collects urine, which is recycled. Each astronaut has their own funnel.
Toilet Training
The port of entry is small for solid waste; astronauts have to train on Earth with a camera in order to align themselves for a successful deposit.
Recycling Water Waste
Once urine is collected, it goes through an eight-day process in which 80% is purified into safe drinking water. This recycling system accounts for 93% of the water abroad the ISS.
Vacuum Chamber
So solid waste does not float away, a vacuum is used to move it away from the astronaut and into a small bag.
Waste Storage Drawer
Every week or so, astronauts swap a full container for an empty one. All ISS waste (bathroom and otherwise) leaves on expendable cargo spacecraft that burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
Testing a New Toilet
Engineers designed a new space toilet -- the Universal Waste Management System, which was launched to the ISS in 2020 -- to be easier for everyone to use. It was also 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the original ISS toilet.
SIAIR_230108_35.JPG: Mirror, Mirror on the Wrist
Because large helmets prevent astronauts from looking down at the spacesuit controls on their chests, they wear a small wrist mirror. Control settings are written backwards to be readable when using the mirror.
SIAIR_230108_38.JPG: No Faucet, No Spitting
Astronauts brush their teeth with special, edible toothpaste that they can swallow (don't try this at home!) since they don't have running water or anywhere to spit inside a spacecraft.
SIAIR_230108_49.JPG: Astronauts Go Less
NASA prescribes a low-fiber diet, called "low residue," to reduce the frequency and volume of an astronaut's solid waste.
SIAIR_230108_59.JPG: Lunar-themed cookies in the cafeteria
SIAIR_221014_001.JPG: The National Air and Space Museum will open October 14, 2022.
Reserve your timed-entry passes here: airandspace.si.edu/dc
Visit si.edu/visit for information on Smithsonian museums' operating hours.
SIAIR_221014_015.JPG: "There's more to life than being a passenger."
-- Amelia Earhart, Record-setter and Feminist
SIAIR_221014_019.JPG: "Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity."
-- Mae Jemison, Space Pioneer
SIAIR_221014_022.JPG: "The real barrier wasn't in the sky but in our knowledge."
-- Chuck Yeager, First Mach 1 Pilot
SIAIR_221014_055.JPG: Smithsonian Enterprises
Notice of Filming
This area is being used to record a project for Smithsonian Enterprises.
SIAIR_221014_075.JPG: Blue Room
That's slang for an aircraft bathroom. It probably derived from the "blue ice" chemical used to treat bathroom waste.
SIAIR_221014_078.JPG: A Titanium "Bathtub"
The cockpit of the USAF A-10 "Warthog" is made of titanium, protecting the pilot against groundfire and shrapnel during low-altitude attacks.
SIAIR_221014_080.JPG: Evacuation Station
Commercial Airplane Toilet
Waste Storage
When you flush, waste travels through pipes to the rear of the plane, where it remains in a tank until landing. The tank is then emptied by special service trucks.
Vacuum Flush
When you flush, a trapdoor in the base of the toilet opens and a blue liquid disinfectant fills the bowl. That loud roar is not the outdoor air, but the sound of a vacuum being created and pushing the contents into a holding tank. It's powerful: exiting waste has been clocked at a velocity faster than a Formula 1 race car.
Saving Water
The vacuum system used only about 1/2 gallon (2 liters) of fluid per flush, compared to 1.6 gallons (6 liters) for typical water-saving toilets.
SIAIR_221014_083.JPG: Pressure Drop
As air speeds up, its pressure goes down. When you activate a hand dryer, the pressure in the fast-moving air -- a fluid -- drops relative to room air. Learn more about Bernoulli's principle in Textron How Things Fly.
SIAIR_221014_084.JPG: Simple Style
In 1936, the DC-3 airliner introduced a level of style and comfort -- including private bathrooms -- that for the first time made flying profitable and pleasant. Passengers could refresh themselves in a bathroom equipped with a toilet and sink. See a DC-3 in America by Air.
SIAIR_221014_088.JPG: Go With the Flow
Fluids easily change shape depending on their viscosity (resistance to flow). Air and water -- both fluids -- have low viscosity, so the air from hand dryers and water from faucets flow easily.
SIAIR_221014_099.JPG: Carl Sagan
Author and Astronomer
"The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space."
SIAIR_221014_103.JPG: Sally Ride
First US Woman in Space
"Weightlessness is a great equalizer."
SIAIR_221014_107.JPG: Chuck Yeager
First Mach 1 Pilot
"The real barrier wasn't in the sky but in our knowledge."
SIAIR_221014_114.JPG: T-70 X-Wing Starfighter
Screen-Used Vehicle
The compelling vision of spaceflight imagined in Star Wars fundamentally changed how space science fiction was envisioned.
SIAIR_221014_117.JPG: T-70 X-Wing Starfighter
Resistance Fighter
Both the Rebellion and Resistance used X-wing fighters in their respective conflicts against the Galactic Empire and First Order.
SIAIR_221014_170.JPG: Jacqueline Cochran
First woman Mach 1 pilot
"Adventure is a state of mind -- and spirit."
SIAIR_221014_182.JPG: Note the green sign is blank on this side, but says "EXIT" on the other.
SIAIR_221014_190.JPG: Charles A. Lindbergh
First to fly the Atlantic solo
"The Spirit of St. Louis was a lens focused on the future."
SIAIR_220409_01.JPG: Transforming the National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum gratefully acknowledges the leadership donors whose support is helping us reimagine our National Mall building for the next generation of innovators and explorers.
The first phase of the 23 newly transformed galleries will open in 2022. To learn more about how you can be a part of the Museum's transformation, contact NASMmembership@si.edu or visit IgniteTomorrow.si.edu
The donors are listed presumably by level of their donation. The biggest are
Jeff Bezos
Boeing
Raytheon Technologies
Kenneth C. Griffin
Thomas W. Haas Foundation
The Hillside Foundation - Allan and Shelley Holt
Kislak Family Foundation / Jay I. Kislak
TEXTRON
The second tier includes
David M. Rubenstein
Apollo 11 Commemorative Coin Program
SIAIR_220409_10.JPG: The National Air and Space Museum is temporarily closed for construction to bring you new galleries.
Opening Fall 2022
SIAIR_220409_17.JPG: The National Air and Space Museum is temporarily closed for construction to bring you new galleries.
Opening Fall 2022
SIAIR_220306_01.JPG: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Open During Construction
Entrance on National Mall Side
[ In actuality, the museum had closed at the end of January. It would temporarily open the next weekend for the If/Then She Can women in STEM 3-D printed statues.
SIAIR_220306_33.JPG: What's happening here?!
We are allowing our Pawpaw tree to form a colony! The pawpaw is a massive tree that produces mango/banana-like fruits, the largest edible fruit in N. America.
SIAIR_220306_37.JPG: We're Under Construction
The Museum will temporarily close for construction in late March 2022. We hope to see you when we reopen eight new galleries next fall.
SIAIR_220306_52.JPG: The National Air and Space Museum is CLOSED today.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
SIAIR_220206_04.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2022_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (120 photos from 2022)
SIAIR_220206_06.JPG: Did you know...?
These three "Skyrocket" junipers were planted to represent the early days of the National Air and Space Museum. Before this building opened in 1976, several large rockets in the museum's collection were displayed along the west side of the Arts and Industries Building to create "Rocket Row" (right). What other plants can you spot in this galactic garden with an "outer space" theme?
SIAIR_220206_17.JPG: Museum Entrance
[ The museum had closed in late January and wasn't going to reopen -- temporarily -- in mid-March but the signs still made you think that you could get in if only you walked all the war around it to the other entrance. ]
SIAIR_211120_026.JPG: The construction tower gets lifted up.
SIAIR_210730_005.JPG: Welcome back to the Smithsonian!
Please be mindful of our requirements for entry:
(1) Maintain a safe social distance
(2) Wear a face covering
(3) Present your timed-entry pass
(4) Prepare for a bag check
Enjoy your visit!
SIAIR_210730_009.JPG: What's Happening?
This temporary structure is a mockup constructed for the purpose of evaluating four options for reclodding of the Museum building and its site walls, as well as several options for pavement of its terraces.
The recladding is part of a large project to revitalize and improve exterior and interior areas of the Museum.
SIAIR_210730_061.JPG: Large crowds on reopening day.
SIAIR_210730_091.JPG: Need More Air and Space?
Visit the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Chantilly, VA
SIAIR_210730_111.JPG: Remote assistance
SIAIR_210730_135.JPG: To our visitors, I am so pleased to welcome you back to the Smithsonian. We have missed you.
As we open our doors again, it is essential we all do our part to put safety first. During your visit, you will see new health and safety measures in place to protect our visitors, our staff, our volunteers, and our collections.
Our staff will:
Stay home when sick
Wear face coverings
Practice social distancing
Wash hands, sanitize, and practice good hygiene
Our public spaces will have:
Limited capacity
Increased cleaning and sanitization
Social-distancing signage and directions
Our visitor guidelines are:
Maintain a safe social distance
Wear a face covering
Wash hands, sanitize, and practice good hygiene
Thank you for your support of the Smithsonian and for doing your part to keep our community safe. Please come back soon.
Lonnie G. Bunch III
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
SIAIR_210730_139.JPG: Help us protect our visitors, staff, and volunteers:
Conduct a self-check of your health before entry.
1. Have you had any of the following NEW or UNUSUAL-FOR-YOU symptoms within the past 72 hours? ...
2. Have you or anyone in your household or group tested positive or are awaiting test results for COVID-19?
3. Do you or anyone in your household or group have the symptoms of COVID-19 listed above?
...
SIAIR_210407_46.JPG: Welding another piece together.
SIAIR_210109_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2021_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (74 photos from 2021)
SIAIR_200906_01.JPG: I saw numerous people come up to the building after reading "We're open!" on their banner thinking they might in fact be open. Nope.
SIAIR4_200826_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2020_DC_SIAIR_4Ward DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Forward Into Light (5 photos from 2020)
SIAIR_200411_30.JPG: Normally I'd be plagued trying to avoid photographing cars going by but not during Covid-19.
SIAIR_200122_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2020_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (33 photos from 2020) This used to be the temporary exhibit gallery but once the central part of the museum, which included the main museum store, was closed for the building renovation, they opened this one.
SIAIR_190626_14.JPG: The image gives you some idea of how extensive the renovations are going to be.
SIAIR_190626_31.JPG: Suggestion donation is $5
SIAIR_190626_43.JPG: Big Changes Are In the Air.
We are in the midst of a major project to transform the National Air and Space Museum for the future.
The project includes revitalization of the building and a comprehensive reimagining of all the exhibitions.
To learn more about the project and how you can get involved, visit airandspace.si.edu/reimagine
SIAIR_190327_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2019_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (46 photos from 2019) Many of the galleries are closed for renovations.
SIAIR_190327_19.JPG: Big Changes Are In the Air.
We are in the midst of a major project to transform the National Air and Space Museum for the future.
The project includes revitalization of the building and a comprehensive reimagining of all the exhibitions.
To learn more about the project and how you can get involved, visit airandspace.si.edu/reimagine
SIAIFC_181229_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIAIR_Foodcourt DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Food Court (11 photos from 2018)
SIAIFC_181229_14.JPG: 6" 1/4 lb Hot Dog
$6.95
Bundle Up
6" 1/4 lb hot dog, any bag of chips & bottled drink
(excluding alcohol/specialty bottled coffee)
$10.95
SIAIR_180629_20.JPG: Continuum
by Charles O. Perry
1976
AIRJW_180615_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIAIR_Jurassic DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Jurassic World LEGO set (10 photos from 2018)
AIRJW_180615_17.JPG: LEGO
121,014 bricks
235 kg
652 hours
Designed and hand built by The LEGO Group.
AIRSW_180120_04.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIAIR_SWPromo DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Star Wars Last Jedi Costume (Promo) (6 photos from 2018)
AIRSW_180120_07.JPG: Costume worn by Daisy Ridley as Rey in "Star War: The Last Jedi"
AIRSW_180120_17.JPG: Costume worn by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
SIAIR_180120_04.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (11 photos from 2018)
SIAIR_170709_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2017_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (6 photos from 2017) The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Historic Aerospace Site
T.S.C. Lowe's Observation Flight
On June 18, 1861, T.S.C. Lowe made a tethered observation flight with his gas-filled balloon Enterprise from a spot on the National Mall in front of where the National Air and Space Museum now stands. During this flight, he sent the first telegram ever dispatched from the air to President Lincoln in the White House, describing what could be seen from an altitude of 500 feet. The ascent marked the beginning of an observation balloon corps for the U.S. Army, the first American military aeronautical unit, and the birth of aerial reconnaissance in the United States.
2011
SIAIR_161211_07.JPG: Cell phone towers set up for inauguration
SIAIR_160704_02.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2016_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (10 photos from 2016) Preparing to raise the flag at the Air and Space Museum
SIAIR_151022_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2015_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (10 photos from 2015)
SIAIR_130913_09.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (2 photos from 2013)
SIAIR_100414_02.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2010_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (4 photos from 2010)
SIAIR_090704_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2009_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (10 photos from 2009)
SIAIR_090704_13.JPG: The line for the women's room on July 4th
SIAIR_080501_11.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2008_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (3 photos from 2008)
SIAIR_021024_02.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2002_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (1 photo from 2002)
SIAIR_991229_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 1999_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (2 photos from 1999)
SIAIR_980711_04.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 1998_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (2 photos from 1998)
SIAIR_970901_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 1997_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (7 photos from 1997) Air & Space Museum
This is a view of the outside of the Air and Space Museum. The museum official opened on July 4 1976 and draws record-breaking crowds as the most widely-visited museum in the world.
SIAIR_970901_02.JPG: Air & Space Museum; Space Spindle
This is the "Space Spindle" sculpture which sits in front of the Air and Space Museum.
SIAIR_810005_05.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 1981_DC_SIAIR_Bldg DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- General (1 photo from 1981)
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.)
I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
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