Vivid Program With Three Authors Melds Art And Space Science at The Museum of Flight Seattle

PRESS RELEASE On July 27, at The Museum of Flight in Seattle, award-winning author Ron Miller and new Smithsonian coauthors Matthew Shindell and Margaret Weitekamp will lead a visual journey through the history of the spaceship in our collective imagination and in reality. Their program is based upon the new edition of their popular book, Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and the Imagined. A book signing follows the program. Miller will be attending virtually, but signed bookplates will be provided so the books will bear the signatures of all three authors. The 2 p.m. event is presented as part of the Museum’s new Home Beyond Earth exhibition and is free with general admission. Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and the Imagined explores how art and science have merged in the creation of real and fictional spaceships, from Mercury and Apollo spacecraft to Millennium Falcon and Starship Enterprise. This second edition is thoroughly updated to offer a complete history of spaceships. It builds off the original book with new information and developments in topics that include: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems Bigelow Aerospace’s B330 inflatable space stations SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Future Mars exploration, moon landers, and interstellar ships New foreword from Bobak Ferdowsi, an American Flight engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory New foreword from Kathryn D. Sullivan, geologist and former NASA astronaut who was the first American woman to spacewalk. Award-winning author Ron Miller and new Smithsonian coauthors Matthew Shindell and Margaret Weitekamp take readers on a visual journey through the history of the spaceship, both in our collective imagination and in reality. Vivid illustrations trace spaceships through their conception, engineering, and building. The exquisitely detailed book charts the ubiquity of spaceships in the golden age of space travel (1950s and ’60s) and their broad influence in popular art, television, film, and literature. Spaceships is a vibrant and visual book on the history of spaceships, past, present, and future.   Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and the Imagined The exquisitely detailed book charts the ubiquity of spaceships in the golden age of space travel (1950s and ’60s) and their broad influence on popular art, television, film and literature. The new edition includes material on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems, Bigelow Aerospace’s B330 inflatable space stations, SpaceX’s Falcon 9, future Mars exploration, moon landers and interstellar ships.

Founded in 1965, the independent, nonprofit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, annually serving over 600,000 visitors. The Museum’s collection includes more than 160 historically significant airplanes and spacecraft, from the first fighter plane (1914) to today’s 787 Dreamliner. Attractions at the 23-acre, 5-building Seattle campus include the original Boeing Company factory, the NASA Space Shuttle Trainer, Air Force One, Concorde, Lockheed Blackbird and Apollo Moon rockets. In addition to the Seattle campus adjacent to King County International Airport, the Museum also has its 3-acre Restoration Center and Reserve Collection at Paine Field in Everett (not currently open to the public).

With a foundation of aviation history, the Museum is also a hub of news and dialogue with leaders in the emerging field of private spaceflight ventures. The Museum’s aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 150,000 individuals are served annually by the Museum’s onsite and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field halfway between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission for adults is $26. Youth 5 through 17 are $18, youth 4 and under are free. Seniors 65 and over $22. Groups of ten or more: $20 per adult, $13 per youth, $18 per senior. Admission is free from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. The Museum offers free quarterly Sensory Day programs, $3 admission through the Museums for All program, plus military and other discounts. Parking is always free. There is a full lunch menu café operated by McCormick & Schmick’s. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org.