Air & Space Museum Reopens 60 Years After Alan Shepard's Mission

CHANTILLY, VA — The National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly has reopened after shutting down for the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The center, part of the Smithsonian, will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The public will need to get a free, timed ticket to enter the museum.

Other Smithsonian museums are expected reopen to the public later this month, including the National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum. However, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. will remain temporarily closed.

The Udvar-Hazy Center is opening on the 60th anniversary of Alan Shepard becoming the first American in space when he launched on a suborbital mission aboard his Mercury Freedom 7 spacecraft. The mission lasted 15 minutes and 22 seconds.

Visitors will be able to see the Mercury Capsule Freedom 7, which carried Shepard into space at 5,000 mph.

“Star Wars” fans will get to see a full-sized X-wing Starfighter on display. The craft that appeared in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” has a wingspan of 37 feet.

The craft will be on view in the Restoration Hanger at Udvar-Hazy until it is moved to be displayed at the Air and Space Museum in D.C. in 2022.

The starfighter is on a long-term loan from Lucasfilm, the Disney production company responsible for the Star Wars franchise.