We Need More (Air and) Space!

The National Air and Space Museum has announced the upcoming expansion of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the first since the Chantilly, Virginia-based center opened in 2003.

 

The Boeing Aviation Center at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. (NASM photo.)

As part of this expansion, we will add 44,000 square feet of display space to the north end of the Boeing Aviation Hangar, increasing its size by 20%. This additional space will allow the Museum to bring artifacts out of storage and display new acquisitions.

The center will remain open during construction, which is anticipated to be complete at the end of 2028, at which point we will begin to move artifacts into this new space.

As part of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center expansion, the Museum will complete the preservation of the Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder “Flak-Bait,” reassemble the aircraft, and put it on display at the Center for the first time. (NASM photo)

While plans are still being finalized, some of the artifacts from the museum’s collection that are planned for display after the expansion are the Martin B-26 Marauder Flak-Bait and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, both of which have never been displayed at the center fully assembled. Others will include the restored Sikorsky JRS-1, a Pearl Harbor survivor; the De Havilland DH-98B Mosquito; and the Franklin Texaco Eaglet.

Like the rest of the Center, the expansion will be privately funded. The Museum is currently undergoing a $60 million campaign to secure funding for the addition. Support for the expansion thus far has been provided by Steven and Christine Udvar-Hazy, Charles and Lisa Simonyi, Sarah and Ross Perot Jr., the Thomas W. Haas Foundation, and the Air Lease Corp.