Were in the boeing milestones of flight hall at the center of the museum. And this is the hall where we display the pioneering aircraft and spacecraft that transform the modern world. When this Museum Opened in july of 1976, almost every space artifact on display had recently been in the news. This was very much a museum of contemporary space flight. And it was for most people their first chance to see what had been lauded in the 1960s and early 1970s during this heroic age of Space Exploration when humans first ventured off the planet into space and all the way to the moon, when the United States and the soviet union began sending craft out to explore the nearby planets. All of this was exciting, thrilling, and people just flocked in to the museum to see it. In the 40 years since this building opened, we have continued to acquire treasures of space history. We have now about 17,000 artifacts related to space history. We have just over a thousand of them on display in our two locations
Were going to get started because we have a hard cue at 8 48. Please raise for the presentation of the colors and the singing of the National Anthem by tim kepler. Clr o say, can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming . Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming . And the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh, say, does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave . [ applause ]. Please be seated. We have a lot to do and a lot of special guests to thank before we get going tonight. Youll hear in a couple of moments from Rhonda Johnson who is the president of at t california. At t is the cosponsor with the Nixon Foundation at todays events which have been going on since the 5k race for space this morning right up to this moment celebrating 50 years ago. I
The Smithsonian National air and space museum shows us artifacts that tell the story of Space Exploration from the moon to mar mars. Each week american artifacts takes viewers into archives, museums and Historic Sites around the country. Up next we visit the Smithsonian National air and space museum located on the National Mall in washington, d. C. Our tour guide is valerie neal, head of the Space History Department at the museum who shows us artifacts that tell the story of Space Exploration from the moon to mars. Im valerie neal. Were in the boeing milestones of flight hall at the center of the museum and this is the hall where we display the pioneering aircraft and spacecraft that transform the modern world. When this Museum Opened in july of 1976 almost every space artifact on display had recently been in the news. This was very much a museum of contemporary spaceflight and it was for most people their first chance to see what had been lauded in the 1960s and early 1970s during thi
2027488901. Send us a tweet at cspan history or join us on facebook at facebook. Com cspanhistory. As we move outside to inside, one of the displays, and there are so many inside this fabulous museum, is moving beyond earth. And an example of the evolution of americas Space Shuttle program. And joining us again is valerie neal. We saw you just a moment ago in the tape portion. You are the curator, the chair of the Space History Department here at the museum. And lets talk about the shuttle program. No other country had Something Like that. Well, briefly, the soviet union did. They built a craft called buran that mimicked our Space Shuttle. But it was several years later. They flew one test flight and then retired it. They didnt really have a need for a shuttle craft. But they were very worried about what we might use ours for. And they thought they should have one too, just in case. But really, in the annals of space history, the u. S. Space shuttle is unique. Its the only operational
A deadly motorcycle accident is under investigation. It happened near azure and donna just after noon. Metro tells us the motorcyclist was traveling west bound on azure when it coll the 28yearold cyclist was taken to umc where he was pronounced dead. Police say drugs and alcohol initially do not seem to be a factor in the crash. Christianne Klein one person is dead and another is recovering after a suspected drunk driver ran into them on the sidewalk. It happened last night, near charleston and las vegas boulevard. Police say a man and woman were sitting on a wall. When a 45year old woman drove up onto the sidewalk and hit them. And was arrested a short time later. She was arrested for dui, involving death. The woman on the wall was killed. The man has what are described as minor injuries. paul joncich it sounds worse than it is, but the potential traffic nightmare called carnado is here. Closures around the spaghetti bowl are expected to cause traffic snarls through late february 2017