Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter To Find New Home at National Air and Space Museum

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 6, 2021

 

Star Wars fans who want to get a glimpse of an actual X-wing Starfighter will not have to travel to a “galaxy far, far away,” or even Galaxy’s Edge in Florida or California. They can head to Washington, D.C., to see a full scale X-wing at The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The ship is on long-term loan from Lucasfilm. 

Courtesy of Lucasfilm

Beginning in 2022, the X-wing Starfighter will be displayed outside the Albert Einstein Planetarium in a newly renovated building on the National Mall. Until then, guests can see the ship undergoing conservation work in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Guests currently need to reserve free timed entry passes to enter the facility.

 

The full-sized vehicle, with a wingspan of 37 feet, was used in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. 

 

“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 National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., is located on the National Mall between the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Castle, and among its thousands of treasures houses items such as the 1903 Wright Flyer, the world’s first successful airplane; Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit; and a full-size test version of the Hubble Space Telescope. It currently remains closed under COVID guidelines.

Courtesy of Lucasfilm

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center reopened this week, and is located in Chantilly, Virginia. It is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, but there is a $15 fee parking charge.

 

For more information about the museum, visit the National Air and Space Museum’s website.

 

Information about the Smithsonian’s renovation plans can be found here. 

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

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