Over the weekend, while a lot of people went to the Miramar Airshow, many also came by the Museum to hear space journalist and author Andy Chaikin talk about the moon and its explorers.

During his first presentation, for educators, he explored the moon using the interactive computer program Google Moon. The talk had such good and interesting info that we (the Education Department) will probably “heavily borrow” some/most of it for a class or two.

Then after a lunch on the back patio, Andy gave his second talk to the public, which he recounted some of the amusing and interesting stories and quotes he collected from Apollo astronauts during his book research.

Afterwards, he spent some time wandering around the space gallery and checking out the Apollo 9 space craft and other space related items in our collection. Check out some pictures below:

Checking out the Gemini and Mercury Spacesuits

I want to buy it but they say not to wear white after Labor Day.

This Space Craft looks Dirty. Jesse (SDSpace), Andy (Speaker), Francis

Now, I could tell you how great the Night at the Museum sleepover was, but I think it might be better to let one the attendees tell you how much he and his daughter enjoyed the evening:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you [our wonderful Stacy, Special Events Manager] and the Air & Space Museum staff for the wonderful experience that my daughter and I had during our “Night at the Museum.” From arrival to our departure the professionalism displayed by the staff was simply outstanding. I was very impressed by the knowledge of your staff. They answered any and all questions that were presented to them. One of the highlights for me was the tour of the restoration facility in the basement. Just seeing the efforts and love that your volunteers put into their work made the experience unforgettable for me.

The role players were a very nice touch, their knowledge in their respective ”roles” was very good. The only recommendation I would make is to have more of them, and perhaps a video of the era they represent. For my daughter the only disappointment was departing, she did not want to go.

If you chose to conduct this event again I would highly recommend it to anyone as an unforgettable experience. Once again thank you for a truly unique experience.

Here are some pictures from the evening’s tour with reenactors:

Staff Sergeant with a Big Toothy Mouth

The World War II Pilot explaining his P-51 Mustang

The Reenactors in front of the Apollo 9 spacecraft

The Museum is launching a new video competition and is looking for aspiring young filmmakers with ideas to help green the world. As an extension of the Green Skills for Life event, San Diego County kids are asked to create a 1-2 minute video that answers the following three questions:

• What idea do you have that you think you or others could do that would green the world?
• What needs to be done to make your idea a reality?
• Why should you and others do it?

Creators of the winning videos will win a $500 scholarship and will receive their award at the 2009 International Hall of Fame Gala in the presence of honored guests such as Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and the Blue Angels.

For more info and how to enter, click here.

This post was written by Rich Martindell, a former F-15 pilot, long time Museum volunteer, and Advanced Ground Instructor (AGI) for both the Museum and King Schools.  Rich can be found though his website, Wild Blue Yonder. You can also see more pictures of his trip on his Flickr page.

When the San Diego Air & Space Museum put together a trip to Moscow for the MAKS Air Show I thought the price looked a little steep until I studied the itinerary and determined it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. For an Air Force pilot that stared across the Iron Curtain for a good part of my career I couldn’t miss seeing the displays at the air show and the former Soviet arsenal that we would have access to thanks to the museum’s contacts. In addition to the air show there would be stops at the Russian Air Force Museum at Monino Air Base, the Museum of the Soviet Forces, the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (World War II), the cosmonaut training center at Star City and the Russian Academy of Civil Aviation in St. Petersburg. Each stop would have a designated host to explain the exhibits and we would have an interpreter to translate what the host said.

For those who know as little Russian as I do, MAKS is the acronym you get from the first letters of the Russian words for International Air and Space Salon. I don’t know why they don’t call it the Moscow Air Show. Just filling out the application for the Russian visit visa told me it was going to be fun and that the four former military pilots in our group of nine would have a “friend” for the entire trip. The two most interesting questions on the visa application were, “Have you ever participated in an armed conflict,” and “Have you ever been trained in the use of nuclear weapons.” With 323 combat missions in North and South Vietnam and 2½ years of sitting nuke alert in Germany I was a winner!

The Russian idea of how to create a show line. Put a soldier ever 10 yards for 3 miles.

The first day at the air show saw half a million people show up at the same time so getting through the ticket and security lines even with advanced tickets took an hour and a half. The weather was doggy both Saturday and Sunday and the only opportunity to fly high shows occurred on Saturday afternoon but, they were impressive. Although the USAFE A-10, F-15 and F-16 demo teams had been preparing to attend, President Obama abruptly cancelled any U.S. military participation just two weeks prior to the show. The Russians did not disappoint however, showing off the MiG-29 Fulcrum, the Su-27 Flanker and the Su-34 Fullback. The Russian Knights suffered a mid-air collision the week prior during practice for the air show, killing the leader and cancelling their participation, the Russian Falcons and Swifts flew formation demonstrations in the MiG-29 and Su-27. Also present were the Italian Frecce Tricolori in their 10 Aermacchi MB-339s and the Patrouille de France in their nine Alpha Jets. While the other seven people in our group didn’t want to fight the crowds on Sunday, my son who is also a pilot, and I wanted to return presenting a dilemma for our guide. Miraculously, she was able to find a friend who wanted to attend the air show and would be happy to keep us company while she showed the rest of our group an art gallery in Moscow. Sunday was low shows all day but it was very amazing watching the Italians fly a 10-ship tight formation show under a 2,000 foot overcast. We spent a lot of Sunday looking at the static displays and the exhibit halls which were every bit as impressive as anything you will see at Oshkosh or the NBAA convention.  This was definitely an “I love Russia” air show and display but it was 100% enjoyable. It was very interesting to note that they are now all “Russian” and the word “Soviet” has dropped from the vocabulary even though much of the old mentality persists.

A beautiful airplane even when it’s loaded with iron and Rich Martindell former F-15 pilot

The trip to the Russian Air Force Museum at Monino was every bit as spectacular as all the web posts make it out to be.  A vast array of 185 different aircraft, from pre-World War I up to currently operational aircraft, is on display. It is the equivalent of our museum at Wright-Patterson but it is operated on a shoe-string budget and it’s very disappointing to see all these aircraft in open storage exposed to the environment that Moscow has to offer in the winter.

The visit to Star City gave us the opportunity to see the world’s largest centrifuge and experience their International Space Station mockup and trainer. Our cosmonaut host, Colonel Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin, had been on two space flights and is preparing for his third.

A nice surprise was the visit to the museum at the Russian Academy of Civil Aviation in St. Petersburg. This is a state run school for people who want to be mechanics, airline pilots or air traffic controllers. The courses offered are similar to Embry-Riddle University in Florida or Prescott but it is a more certain pipeline to employment in the Russian civil aeronautics system. The museum is a small six room facility in the academy and the museum’s director was delighted to host us. She treated us like royalty and invited each of us back to make a presentation at their annual aviation symposium in May.

U-2 Gary Power’s was flying when he was shot down in 1960 on display at the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow. The ejection seat is visible in front of the intake on the left.

Salon: MiG and Sukhoi reps hawking their wares

You can see more of Rich’s Russia picture on his Flickr Page.

After our successful Apollo 8 event (and by successful I mean, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin came!) back in December of 2008, the USS Midway Museum approached us on working together to hold an event this year to honor not just the Apollo 8 anniversary but also the forty year anniversary of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions. We (the Museum) of course said yes and as the plans developed the one night event split into two and the Race to the Moon weekend was born.

Trying to get all the Space Race astronauts in one location would be like trying to herd cats, but we were very successful in having eight join us along with a former NASA Flight Controller. Those who came to be honored were Jim McDivitt (Gemini 4, Apollo 9), Walt Cunningham (Apollo 7), Bill Anders (Apollo 8), Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9), Alan Bean (Apollo 12, Skylab II), Fred Haise (Apollo 13), Al Worden (Apollo 15), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16), Glynn Lunney (Gemini & Apollo Flight Controller). Others in attendance were Charlie Bolden (STS 61-C, 31, 45, 60), who is also the new NASA Administrator, Bill Shepherd (first International Space Station commander), and Lee Scherer (Former NASA center director).

The first event took place on Friday night at the Museum. To prepare, we transformed our board room into a green room (more like a blue room) and gussied up the Pavilion. That night, the V.I.P.s chatted in the green room while the guest mingled below in the Pavilion enjoying hamburger sliders and other tasty appetizers (I did not get a chance to try them all, just the sliders) Friday evening gave the guests a chance to meet, talk to, and take a picture with the willing V.I.P.s. After mingling for awhile the guests took their seats and listened while the V.I.P.s took to the stage and talked about their involvement in the space race during a moderated forum. You can read the live tweets of the forum here. Buzz Aldrin even made a video appearance since he could not make it because of a conflicting engagement in Europe (too far away to make the drive if you ask me).

The Astronauts and Flight Controller as they take the Stage

The next event took place onboard the USS Midway Museum and they rolled out the red carpet. Once the guests arrived and had time to enjoy themselves on the flight deck, the V.I.P.s left the special V.I.P. sponson area and made a grand entrance riding up on the L3 (the elevator used to haul planes from the hangar bay to the flight deck) with a Marine marching band playing the theme to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Everyone then took their seats at the tables, enjoyed a fancy dinner (the dessert had cookies shaped like the moon and stars), and watched a flyover of the International Space Station and the docked Discovery Shuttle with San Diegan Rick Sturckow on board. The V.I.P.s then went on the stage and received their American Patriot Award presented by the USS Midway. To finish the night, fireworks shot off of the carrier’s tower. A spectacular way to end a great event.

Astronauts on the Stage. Left to right: Glynn Lunney, Rusty Schweickart, Fred Haise, Alan Bean, Bill Anders, Walt Cunningham, Charlie Duke, Jim McDivitt, Al Worden

Both events went really well and I know everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves while honoring the accomplishments of these men. Over 40 years later they still inspire us.

You can check out photos taken both nights on our Flickr page by clicking here.

During Astronaut Tracy Caldwell’s visit to the Museum for the Apollo 11 anniversary events she stopped by our Space Shuttle Simulator. She enjoyed sitting in the Commander’s seat for a change!

Tracy took time to pose for some pictures and became the second astronaut to sign our Atlantis Shuttle Cockpit (Sally Ride being the first).

Below are some pictures of her latest shuttle inspection:

As part of NASA’s celebrations of 40 years of Apollo and 10 years of the International Space Station, they are putting on Hometown Hero talks using astronauts local to the area. For San Diego, Southern California astronaut Tracy Caldwell gave a fascinating and dynamic presentation about her experiences during her flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2007.

To give an idea of how long it has been since Apollo 11 – Tracy Caldwell has been an astronaut for 11 years, has already flown in space, and yet was born after the Apollo 11 mission…

After her talk she held an engaging question and answer session and then presented the Museum with a photograph of the Museum taken from the orbiting International Space Station over 200 miles above Earth. She then took the time to sign autographs. Tracy has now left us to return to her preparations for her sixth month stay at the ISS beginning in a few months.

Below are a few pictures taken during the event:

This morning has been a frenzy of Apollo 11 media requests here at the Museum as we highlight some the Apollo 11 items in our space collection. For such a momentous occasion the Museum has been doing some very special things. Our curators took off the plexiglass that normally covers the Apollo 9 spacecraft hatch so that camera crews could show how small the inside of a command module really is. Our spacecraft is virtually identical to the Apollo 11 spacecraft, so it gives a vivid impression of what it was like to live in space. For the first time, the Museum is also displaying all three moon rocks in our collection. The rocks were collected by hand from the lunar surface on Apollo 11, 15 and 17, so we have rocks from the first and last landing. Our Apollo 11 rock was officially presented by the President to the state of California.

A number of other Apollo 11 spacecraft parts, food taken on the mission, part of a flight suit used in training by Neil Armstrong, and other artifacts are on a new special display at the front of the Museum. You can read about some of the Apollo 11 items here.

Below are pictures of the items ready for the television broadcasts this morning:

To commemorate one of humankind’s greatest achievements, the landing of people on the moon 40 years ago, we wanted to highlight some of the Apollo 11 artifacts here at the Museum. Some of the Apollo 11 items in  our space collection are a Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container, a pen used during the flight, and replicas of the Apollo 11 mission patch and spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong while on the moon.

Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container

The Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container (ALSRC) in our collection at one point housed some of the precious moon rocks that Apollo 11 brought back from the moon. The engineers at Nuclear Division of Union Carbide used a triple seal to hold in the lunar vacuum and added a aluminum mesh liner inside to help protect the moon rocks on their journey back to earth.

Apollo 11 Space Pen

This is one of the specially engineered pens that can write in space upside down and was actually used by the Apollo 11 astronauts during their 8 day journey to the moon and back. Just think of all the things it wrote like “Fuel Levels at Normal” and “Current Temperature at 70 degrees,” exciting! (I can’t verify if that is actually what they wrote but you get the gist of it)

Apollo 11 Space Patch

Astronauts for each space mission have the honor of designing their own space patch. Michael Collins (read a great Q&A with him here) designed the Apollo 11 patch. His original design had the eagle holding a olive branch in its beak. NASA did not care for the “warlike” talons and moved the olive branch to the eagle’s feet. The crew also decided to use the number 11 instead of the roman numerals XI so as not confuse people and to leave their names off of the patch so it would “be representative of everyone who had worked toward a lunar landing.”

Apollo 11 Spacesuit

There is no atmosphere on the moon and therefore no oxygen (and unfortunately no cheese), so the astronauts needed spacesuits to move around the lunar surface. This is a mockup of the spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong. He needed to walk freely around and not be tethered to the LM so the suit had to provided him with everything he needed, like oxygen, hence the big backpack. It also kept him at a comfortable temperature because the temperature on the moon can vary greatly depending on where you are. With all that equipment the suit weighed about 190 pounds here on Earth but thankfully gravity on the moon is only 1/6 that of Earth’s and therefore the suit weighed a little over 30 pounds.

Another fun fact is that his gold colored visor was actually made of gold to protect him from the sun’s UV rays – a pair of sunglasses and sunscreen would just not cut it.

These are just a few of the Apollo 11 items in our collection so you will just have to come and visit the museum to see the others. We even have moon rocks for you to see!

You can also read a previouse post about our Apollo 9 command module, the same type of spacecraft used by Apollo 11, here.

The Museum has paid staff, but we couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers —and some of them have been working (for free) for over 30 years!  Every year we show them how much we appreciate them (and all that free work they do), by thowing them a huge party.  This year the Museum chose a 1960’s theme a la Austin Powers.  While many of the volunteers are past the age of dressing up (the staff are not), they still like to eat, drink, tell stories, and win prizes.  Every volunteer left with something which will hopefully make them happy enough to come back and work (for free, did we mention that?) for another 30 years.

Below are some photos of the Museum staff dressing up to entertain the volunteers:

They are all Hippies

Rockstar Ladies with a Beatle

British Pop meets American Rock