Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center


The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National [Air and Space Museum] located at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, which houses much of the museum's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, and rockets, which are too large to be displayed at the main facility on the National Mall. The large hangar contains some of the most iconic artifacts in aviation history, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Enola Gay, and the Boeing 367-80, as well as examples of the SR-71 Blackbird and Concorde.
The facility was made possible by a $65 million donation in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by Steven F. Udvar-Házy, an immigrant from Hungary and co-founder of the International Lease Finance Corporation, an aircraft leasing corporation.
Prior to the facility's opening in 2003, much of the museum's collection had been inaccessible to the public, as its size vastly outstripped the space available to the museum on the National Mall. Most of the collection had been stored out of sight at the museum's conservation shop, the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Silver Hill, Maryland. After the Udvar-Hazy Center made much of the collection available to the public in 2003, the restoration and conservation facilities were moved to the facility in 2010 with the construction of an additional wing of the museum funded by Airbus. The restoration facility includes observation windows, allowing the public to view some of the preservation work. The Udvar-Hazy Center receives over 1.2 million visitors annually, as of 2023.
The Udvar-Hazy Center is directly attached to the Dulles International Airport runways via a private taxiway, allowing some accessions to be flown directly to the facility rather than requiring disassembly and ground transport. The airport's large runways can accommodate any size of commercial or military aircraft.
The facility also hosts the Airbus IMAX Theater, a single screen 4K laser cinema which projects onto the largest IMAX screen in the region. It plays both box-office releases and special screenings.
WWW Official Site

Architecture and facilities

Designed by Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum, who also designed the National Air and Space Museum building, the Center required 15 years of preparation and was built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co. The exhibition areas comprise two large hangars, the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The Donald D. Engen Observation Tower provides a view of landing operations at adjacent Washington [Dulles International Airport]. The museum also contains an IMAX theater. A taxiway connects the museum to the airport.
An expansion of the Udvar-Hazy Center is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials. On December 2, 2008, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center received a gift of $6 million for phase two from Airbus Americas Inc. — the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008.
The wing includes:
  • The Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar — spacious enough to accommodate several aircraft at one time with a second-floor viewing area designed to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look.
  • Archives — the foremost collection of documentary records of the history, science and technology of aeronautics and space flight will be housed in a single location for the first time, providing researchers with ample space and equipment.
  • The Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory — provides conservators much-needed space to develop and execute specialized preservation strategies for artifacts.
  • Collections processing unit — a dedicated loading dock and specially designed secure area for initial inspection and analysis of artifacts.
A further expansion of the collections center was approved in December 2016. The addition will be made up of three additional storage modules on the south side of the building. An additional expansion of the museum space was approved on September 9, 2025; the expansion, which will be completed by 2028, will increase the museum's space by 20%, allowing for the display of numerous aircraft from the Smithsonian's collection, including the restored Flak-Bait and the newly-acquired B-17 ''Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby.''

Collection

The center was opened on December 15, 2003. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall, including:
The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, and 169 aircraft and 152 large space artifacts were on display as of May 2012; plans called for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft. Over 5,809 objects out of the 60,000 objects held in trust are on display as of 2016. The current list is maintained at the page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site.

Events

A number of events are held at the museum throughout the year. These include lectures, book signings, sleepovers, and events for children. Some of the museum's larger events include Air & Scare for Halloween, an open house, and Innovations in Flight: Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display.

Media appearances

The center made its first media appearance in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The center remained open while filming took place, although certain areas were closed.