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The National Air and Space Museum’s US$250m transformation continues with one of Star Wars’ X-Wings set to go on display outside the Albert Einstein Planetarium
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 11 May 2021
The X-Wing Starfighter appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and is on long-term loan from Lucasfilm Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Home to iconic monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, Washington DC’s National Mall is soon to become home to another icon - an X-Wing from the legendary Star Wars saga.
Coming to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in late 2022, the X-Wing Starfighter will go on display inside the institution’s newly-renovated building on the National Mall.
The full-sized vehicle, with a wingspan of 37ft (11.2m), appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and is on a long-term loan from Lucasfilm. The spacecraft, which was flown in the movie by Poe Dameron, will be the first Star Wars movie prop to go on long-term display at the museum since Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, which ran between 1997 and 1999.
“Despite taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars introduced generations of fans here on Earth to outer space as a setting for adventure and exploration,” said Margaret Weitekamp, space history chair at the museum.
“All air and space milestones begin with inspiration, and science fiction so often provides that spark - the iconic X-Wing displayed amid our other spacecraft celebrates the journey from imagination to achievement.”
The X-Wing’s design dates back to 1977 with the premier of Star Wars: A New Hope. The fictional crafts take their name from the distinctive shape of their strike foils when in attack position. Artists at Industrial Light and Magic depicted X-Wings and other vehicles using miniatures, as well as full-size vehicles and cockpits, combining the creations with visual effect to create the final production seen in cinemas.
The craft is now undergoing conservation in the Restoration Hangar at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, with this work visible to the public following the centre’s May 5 reopening.
Once work is completed, the X-Wing will go on display outside the Albert Einstein Planetarium. The work is part of a larger US$250m (€205.5m, £176.7m) transformation of the museum, which will see 23 galleries and spaces reimagined for immersive learning, 5,200 artefacts moved and preserved, and 1,400 new objects placed on display over the course of seven years. Bar closures related to COVID-19, the museum is remaining open throughout the project, with phased closures and openings of the institution’s galleries, shops, theatres and café.
Museums and galleries
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