Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, VA 20151) is an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (itself found on the mall in central Washington) located at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. It consists of several massive hangers exhibiting thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery and a Concorde. They needed a much bigger building for these exhibits…

As with other Smithsonian museums, entry is free.

The museum is divided into:

• Boeing Aviation Hanger (the first hanger you enter in the museum) contains the bulk of the displays. Be sure to walk up the steps or take the elevator (located on the far left and in the middle near the Blackbird) to a high walkway that runs the length of the hanger which offers the best views of the machines on display. There are helpful (but crowded) maps along the walkway identifying all exhibits.

• James S. Mcdonnell Space Hanger is the far hanger which you can see in the distance when you enter the museum, housing the Space Shuttle.
• Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hanger is to the left of the space shuttle hanger which you can look into via a 2nd floor walkway but not enter.

• Donald D. Engen Observation Tower offers tremendous views of the Dulles International Airport. The entrance is at the front of the museum near the IMAX theater.

Highlights of the displays include:

• Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (Boeing Aviation Hanger) - The world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft used by the U.S. for surveillance during the cold war. This is the first aircraft you see when you enter the museum.

• Space Shuttle Discovery (James S. Mcdonnell Space Hanger) - The third space shuttle to fly in space. The display includes the “Canadarm” (the remote controlled arm used to get cargo in and out of the cargo bay or perform maintenance tasks), a Manned Manoeuvring Unit (MMU) used by astronauts, and “Spacelab” the laboratory that the shuttle carried in it's cargo bay into space. It is awesome to be in the presence of such a machine and to see it up close - It is quite beaten and “well used”.

• Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay (Boeing Aviation Hanger) - This is the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima in the second world war. It is a massive aircraft, built for long distance bombing raids.

• Concorde, Fox Alpha, Air France (Boeing Aviation Hanger) - The iconic supersonic aircraft, here an example from Air France.

• Boeing 367-80 Jet Transport (Boeing Aviation Hanger) - America's first commercial jet airliner.

There is a large on-site branch of the US burger chain Shake Shack just to your left as you enter the museum along with a large gift shop. To the right there is an IMAX theatre (“Airbus IMAX Theater”), the information desk, toilets and free lockers to store any bags you might have during your visit.

There is on-site parking available at a flat fee of $15 but there is also a local bus service to/from the museum (Fairfax Connector Bus No. 983) which run every 25-60 minutes. If travelling from further away you can catch the bus from the Metro silver line station “Innovation Center”. The museum is only a few minutes drive from the airport making it a good place to spend the day before taking a taxi/Uber to the airport to catch an evening flight.