posted 08-29-2007 02:03 AM               

On October 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, which they called Sputnik ("traveling companion"), and the American reaction to that event generated a technology explosion that would launch the most phenomenal adventure in human history.

posted 08-29-2007 02:07 AM               

SPACE50 FILM FESTIVAL begins with In the Shadow of the Moon, the first of three new critically-acclaimed independent films to be shown during our Fifty Years of Space Flight Celebration. Visitors will also be treated to a "sneak preview" of the Smithsonian Institution's unique traveling exhibit, Earth from Space, which opens to the general public two days later.

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Ron Howard Presents
In The Shadow Of The Moon
A THINKFilm production by David Sington
100 minutes; Rated PG
In the Shadow of the Moon features ten of the surviving astronauts who journeyed to the Moon, telling their stories in their own words. Their narrations are accompanied by spectacular NASA footage, much of it never seen before in a feature film, and all of it re-mastered for maximum visual and aural effect. Visit www.thinkfilmcompany.com

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posted 08-29-2007 02:10 AM               

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Earth from Space shows remarkable views of extraordinary conditions and events on earth's surface from the many sophisticated imaging satellites circling the globe. These images, on 40 vivid, free-standing banners, are of scenes that few have witnessed with their own eyes. Earth from Space also includes a fascinating digital video globe, Magic Planet, that displays weather patterns and geologic events while allowing visitors to observe the global extent of images returned from orbiting satellites. Visit www.earthfromspace.si.edu

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posted 08-29-2007 02:15 AM               

EXHIBIT OPENING: SPUTNIK, THE FIRST ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE
This accurate full-size model of the former Soviet Union’s Sputnik,launched on October 4, 1957, re-creates every external detail of the original satellite that started the "Space Race." The Sputnik model will be unveiled by Apollo 7 Astronaut Walt Cunningham, a member of the Museum's Advisory Board.

SPACE50 FILM FESTIVAL continues at 7:00 p.m. as award-winning producer David Hoffman introduces The Fever of '57, his new film about America's reaction to the Soviet Union's launch of the world's first spacecraft.

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The Fever of '57
A film by David Hoffman
96 minutes; Not Rated
Just hours after Soviet scientists launched Sputnik, NBC radio announced that the Russians had beaten us into space. The resulting scramble to surpass the Soviets began the space race and an arms race that almost provoked World War III. President Dwight Eisenhower and Premiere Nikita Khrushchev changed the course of world history when they secretly met to deal with it all, and The Fever of '57 tells that story. Visit http://thefeverof57.com

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posted 08-29-2007 02:20 AM               

SPACE50 FILM FESTIVAL concludes with The Wonder of it All, a film that features file footage from the Moon with new interviews of the men who went there.

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The Wonder Of It All
A film by Jeffrey Roth
84 minutes; Not Rated
Filmmaker Jeffrey Roth and his crew combine NASA file footage with in-depth interviews with seven of the men that made that fantastic journey to the Moon and back. The title, The Wonder of It All, comes from a phrase that Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke uttered during one of those interviews. Many of the still photos shown in the film are from the astronauts' private collections and have never been seen before. Visit www.thewonderofitallfilm.com

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posted 09-07-2007 09:35 PM               

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
The museum will be producing commemorative posters. Details to follow shortly...

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The posters are $16.95 each, plus $3.50 domestic shipping (Texas residents add $1.40 sales tax). For international shipping, please contact the museum.

To order, e-mail sales@flightmuseum.com and a museum representative will reply with details.

posted 10-07-2007 08:01 PM               

Clinton Laptop Displayed Frontiers of Flight Museum

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Laptop Sent First Presidential Email, Received by John Glenn in Space

From Sputnik Came ARPA, which Created Email and the Internet

The laptop that President William Jefferson Clinton used to send the first presidential email, an email that was received by astronaut/Senator John Glenn aboard the space shuttle Discovery, is being loaned to the Frontiers of Flight Museum for their Space50 celebration, beginning October 4, 2007.

The laptop was recently part of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries' inaugural Air & Space Auction, held on September 20, 2007. Although the laptop failed to sell in that auction, it will now be seen by countless visitors in this landmark exhibit.

"This exciting exhibit celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of mankind's first tentative steps into out outer space with the launch of Sputnik in 1957," said Bruce Bleakley, Museum Director of the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. "That historic launch had far-reaching implications, as the US Government responded by creating two new agencies: the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), and the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). It was ARPA's early efforts to link computers together that led to the development of today's Internet."

"We're excited to be able to share this important piece of technological history with such a fine museum," said Tom Slater, Director of American Auctions for Heritage. "For those of us that grew up with President John F. Kennedy's vision of putting a man on the moon, and remember a time when the space race was strong between the US and the Russians, the opportunity to view all these important artifacts in one place is utterly irresistible."

Bleakley said, "This is one of the greatest educational additions to the museum's extensive collection. Understanding the fiftieth anniversary of space flight and the technological revolution that followed is easier to explain to those who were born in the 21st century with the display of this computer. This important artifact may be viewed at the museum under a full-scale replica of Sputnik and next to the first Apollo (three man crew) Command Module, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum. It's worth noting that this single laptop is far more powerful than the entire network of computer resources the Apollo astronauts used to fly to the moon."

The laptop computer used by President Clinton will be displayed at the opening of Space50 Celebration at the Frontiers of Flight Museum beginning October 4, 2007.

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