Located in the museum’s Space Gallery, the multi-part Space Suit exhibit was unveiled in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, and features seven reproductions of space suits spanning the era of American spaceflight, including Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. Each suit represents the ones worn by U.S. Air Force astronauts on historic missions and allows visitors to see how space gear evolved over time.
Air Force astronauts whose individual suits are featured as reproductions in the exhibit include Gordon Cooper (Mercury-Atlas 9), Michael Collins (Apollo 11) and David Scott (Apollo 15). Other U.S. Air Force astronauts featured through images and text include Thomas Stafford, Edward White, Buzz Aldrin, Catherine Coleman, Susan Helms and Mark Lee.
The exhibit’s innovative design features six stand-alone cases, which allow for 360-degree views, along with a suspended space suit simulating a space walk against the gallery ceiling’s black background. Interpretive text and images accompany each suit as well.
According to National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Director David Tillotson, receiving the 2020 Air Force Heritage Award for the Space Suit exhibit is a significant honor for the museum.
“This award recognizes the great pride we take in telling the Air Force story to a global audience, and an important chapter of that story is the USAF involvement with the space program” said Tillotson. “The Space Suit exhibit not only illustrates what astronauts historically wore, but also explains key aspects of their missions and perhaps even serves as a catalyst to spark the imaginations of our younger visitors by inspiring them to pursue careers with the Air Force, Space Force or NASA.”
Additional information on the museum’s Space Suit exhibit and other items in the museum’s Space Gallery is available at https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Space-Gallery/.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year more than 800,000 visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
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