Official Guide to the National Air and Space Museum [antikvár]

WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL AIR AND SPACEMUSEUMWelcome to the National Air and Space Museum. More than 125 millión people have come to the Museum since it opened on July 1, 1976. Our visitors come from every state in the Union, and one out of every five come from abroad.The Museum is here to bring you a first-hand impression of how aviation and space flight have changed the ways in which we travel by air, pre-pare for national defense, study the Earth and its resources, and explore the solar system and the universe beyond. This guidebook is designed to call your attention to significant items in the various galleries, and to remind you of highlights of your visit when recalling it to others.The exhibitions rangé from a vivid recounting of the beginnings of flight (Early Flightgallery 107) to the latest techniques of remote sensing (Looking at Earthgallery 110) and aerospace applications of the digital computer (Beyond the Limitsgallery 203). The 1987 Intermediate Rangé Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, the first step in negotiated nuclear dis-armament, is commemorated by a Soviet SS-22 missile standing side by side with an American Pershing 2 missile in the central Milestones gallery. In our Langley Theater, a new IMAX giant-screen film, entitled Blue Planet,shows breathtaking views of Earth seen from space, and describes the natural and manmade forces changing our environment today. In our Einstein Planetarium we portray both his-torical developments and current dis-coveries in astronomy. The Museum continues to grow and change in order to reflect new developments in aerospace technology and its applications.What you see in the Museum7 s galleries is the product of a highly dedi-cated staffcurators and historians, scientists, exhibition designers and producers, airplane and spacecraft res-toration specialists, all aided by an en-thusiastic army of knowledgeable vol-unteers. Many of the artifacts you see on display were given by generous do-nors. Most of the exhibitions were made possible by the financial support of individuals and industry. The an-nual operating budget we receive from the United States Congress permits us to welcome all of our visitors free of charge.We hope you and your family will visit the National Air and Space Museum often to enjoy our exhibitions and collections. And if you teli your friends about us, we will be pleased to welcome them as well.Martin HarwitDirectorNational Air and Space Museum