Looking Ahead

Over the next few years, the facility will continue to grow as more air and space artifacts are added to the displays. Eventually, over 200 aircraft and 135 spacecraft will be on display, including the B-17 Flying Fortress named "Swoose" and many more.

Future expansion of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will include a new restoration area where the public can watch as specialists restore air and space objects.

Eventually, restoration and preservation of historic aircraft (currently performed at the  Garber Facility in Suitland, MD) will occur at the Udvar-Hazy Center, where the public will be able to watch skilled museum specialists at work in the restoration hangar. There will also be space for museum archives and collections storage.

History: Planning, Design & Construction

Planning for the new facility began in the early 1980s. In 1998, the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority signed a long-term  lease for the property  on which the Center is being built.

The Smithsonian enlisted the services of the design firm Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, who delivered the final design drawings for the building in November 1998. Building construction began in April 2001. The doors are slated to open in December 2003 in time to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight. Also celebrating the Centannial of Flight will be a new exhibition featuring the Wright brothers, which opened October 11, 2003.

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