This family day event includes and meet-the-author book signings, and kids can learn how to build their own flyable model rocket with help from the Northern Virginia Association of Rocketry. There’s even a robot petting zoo, where you can interact with the latest in robot technology.

The highlight is an advanced sneak peek at the Lockheed Martin-designed spacecraft of the future and successor to the space shuttle – the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.

Space Day 2007
National Air and Space Museum
Independence Avenue at 6th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20560

Date and Time – Saturday, May 5th, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tickets – Free

Nearest Metro subway station – L’Enfant Plaza – BL:ue, Orange, Green and Yellow lines, and Smithsonian – Blue and Orange lines

Parking – Limited metered street parking is available.

Photos: Images courtesy of NASA.

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The SR-71 was the world’s fastest and highest flying aircraft in history. At altitudes around 80,000 feet, it reached speeds in excess of Mach 3 (2000 mph).  In 1976, it set a record of almost 2,200 mph at a record-breaking altitude of just over 85,000 feet (16 miles).

To provide an idea of the incredible speed the Blackbrid was capable of, a trans-Atlantic flight in a typical Boeing 747 took approximately 6 hours and the same trip on the supersonic Concorde took about 3½ hours. The SR 71 Blackbird covered the same distance in only 64 minutes.

The Blackbird is on display along with many other aircraft including the B-29 “Enola Gay” that dropped the first atomic bomb to end World War II, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, a Learjet 23, a P-51 Mustang, Mig 15 and a Concorde.

National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, Virginia 20151

Hours
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. daily

Admission is free, but parking is $12.00 per car.

Participate in the James Bond poll ———->
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The U-2 is famous for being flown over Cuba in 1962 during regular reconnaissance missions.  In early fall of 1962, they photographed Soviet nuclear missiles being deployed and erected, which led to the October Cuban missile crisis.

In 1962 1960, during a spy mission over Soviet airspace, a U-2 piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet airspace by a surface-to-air missile.  He was convicted of espionage by the Soviets and sentenced to three years in prison and seven years of hard labor.  After 21 months of imprisonment, he was exchanged for a KGB colonel who, after setting up an art gallery in Brooklyn as a front for spying and recruiting agents, was captured by the FBI and convicted of espionage.

National Air & Space Museum
Independence Ave at 4th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20560

Hours
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. daily

Admission is free

Parking
Parking in the mall area can be challenging, however metered spaces turn over frequently.

Don’t miss your chance to participate in the Bond poll at the right. Vote for your favorite actor who played James Bond. ————————————->

Cuba map source: National Security Archive

Post from: The DC Traveler

Some of the more noteworthy traitors that provided top-secret information to the Soviets included John Anthony Walker, a communications specialist for the U.S. Navy.  He sold a highly-classified radio cipher card to the Soviets for just a few thousand dollars. The decoding card allow the Soviets to decipher over one million classified U.S. documents causing Walker to be considered one of the most devastating modern spies in U.S. history.

In 1980, Ronald Pelton, an NSA (National Security Agency) communications analyst, used his photographic memory to pass top-secret information to the Soviets. After initially walking in the Soviet Embassy, he offered classified information to help pay off debt from his bankruptcy.  Over 3½ years, he received around $35,000 yet never once provided the Soviets with a single document.  One of the secrets he informed the Soviets about was the successful tapping of an underwater telecommunications cable which carried Soviet military communications.

In 1973, the U.S. offered the Soviets a new site for their new embassy, located on one of the highest hills in Washington, Mt. Alto (elevation 350 feet).  The location provided to the Soviets was the third highest point in DC and offered a line-of-site to the Capitol, the White House the State Department and even the Pentagon.  At the time, 1973, techniques of electronic surveillance were not widely developed. It was however, feared that over time, the site would have allowed the Russians to successfully intercept secret U.S. radio signals.

The current Embassy of Russia, which was not occupied until 1991 is located at 2650 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007.

The old Russian Embassy
1125 16th Street, NW (between L and M Streets NW)
Washington DC, 20036

Participate in the James Bond poll
Check out the Bond poll at the right —-> and vote for your favorite actor who played James Bond, 007.

Photo credits: photo 1 flickr, photo 2 flickr

Post from: The DC Traveler

Washington DC has been one of the main centers of spying activities throughout U.S. history. During the the Civil War, both World Wars and the Cold War, DC has built it’s reputation as a spy center.

If James Bond were to visit Washington for a weekend of fun, there are a few places I’d recommend the ultimate spy visit.  I’ll cover them in the next few posts to The DC Traveler.

The International Spy Museum – Shaken…Not Stirred
With over 50 years of spy memorabilia, even 007 would be intrigued.  Invisible ink, hidden cameras, bugs and over 200 other spy gadgets are on display at the International Spy Museum.

The museum presents the history of spies and spying from revolutionary times to the current. Exhibits include code breaking, propaganda, intelligence gathering, disguises and more.

Don’t miss the ultimate spy’s car — the 1964 silver Aston Martin DB5 which appeared in the Bond movie Goldfinger. It’s equipped with rotating license plates, hidden machine guns, bulletproof rear shield, telescoping tire slashers, and even a passenger’s ejector seat.

The International Spy Museum
800 F Street NW,  between 8th and 9th Streets NW.
Washington, DC 20004

Hours
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. most days, but some days the museum opens earlier or stays open later.

Tickets
$15.00 for adults, $1.00 discount for seniors and active military, $12.00 children 5-11, kids 4 and under are free. 

Admission fees are increasing by $1.00 starting January 1st.

Hours
Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
First and third Saturdays of each month 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Nearest Metro subway station
Gallery Place/Chinatown – Red, Yellow and Green lines.

Parking
Metered street parking is available but limited and tough to find. There are several parking lots and garages within a couple blocks of the museum. Expect parking to cost $10.00-$20.00.

Photo credits: photo 1 – Promotional photo created by United Artists Corporation for the film Goldfinger showing Sean Connery as James Bond, photos 2 & 3 – International Spy Museum

Post from: The DC Traveler

The exhibits covering the impact of cryptology through many examples including Civil War telegraph equipment, World War II Enigma code breaking machines, and supercomputers used to break secret codes.

National Cryptologic Museum
Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland – about 27 miles from DC.

Directions from Washington DC.

Admission is free.

Hours
- Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Vote for your favorite James Bond.  Select your favorite actor who played Bond from the list at the right  ———————->  

Photo credits: National Cryptological Museum 

Post from: The DC Traveler