Not Born in the USA

A trip to Washington DC gave me a chance to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Centre in Chantilly.

Two Metro rides to Wiehle-Reston East station at the end of the Silver line and a bus service (Fairfax Connector no. 983) took almost two hours.

I had been told that on the day of my visit there would be events to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope so my inner geek was salivating.

As I walked in and had my bag security checked, the size of the building was already beginning to heighten my expectation levels further. Walking straight ahead the first exhibit that took my eye was an immaculately preserved Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which looked remarkable with the aid of purposefully positioned lighting. The Blackbird was the world's fastest jet propelled aircraft.

Looking past the Cold War relic I could see the wondrous sight of the imposing Space Shuttle Discovery. I still cannot believe this could glide back to earth, effortlessly landing and that it had spent a combined mission tally of 365 days in space.

At the far end of Discovery there was a stage and seating area and it was there that I spent a large proportion of the day engrossed listening to 3 astronaut panels - including all 7 STS-125 astronauts from the last mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

The 7 adventurers kept me engrossed, transporting me with them to recall their mission in space. I felt like I was 9 again as they took 40 years off my age with wonderful anecdotes of their time together. I was in awe and inspired being so close to people who had exclusive travel tales to tell. They certainly brought the story of the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting above our wondrous planet to life.

Amongst other exhibits were the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, which changed the course of history after dropping the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima in 1945 and an Air France Concorde, which was the first supersonic airliner to enter commercial service in 1976. It recalled memories of seeing and thunderously hearing the French and British joint venture in the skies above London.

The building accommodated a huge variety of imaginatively displayed exhibits, however I would recommend checking out the scheduled events before any visit.

I am thankful for the unexpected chance to witness a one-off event first hand and it reminds me that the best things are the unexpected opportunities that fate delivers.