Space Exploration Open Access 3D Models
Overview
All models digitized by the Smithsonian Museum. 3D Models are downloadable in several formats for use in various 3D Modeling programs. The model viewer on the Smithsonian 3D Digitization page allows for embedding the used model viewer.
Space Exploration Open Access 3D Models
Bell X-1 (3D Model)
Object Details
- Physical Description
- Single engine, single seat, mid-wing rocket plane with international orange paint scheme.
- Summary
- On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, the X-1 reached a speed of 1,127 kilometers (700 miles) per hour, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 13,000 meters (43,000 feet). Yeager named the airplane "Glamorous Glennis" in tribute to his wife.
- Air-launched at an altitude of 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29, the X-1 used its rocket engine to climb to its test altitude. It flew a total of 78 times, and on March 26, 1948, with Yeager at the controls, it attained a speed of 1,540 kilometers (957 miles) per hour, Mach 1.45, at an altitude of 21,900 meters (71,900 feet). This was the highest velocity and altitude reached by a manned airplane up to that time.
- Long Description
- On October 14, 1947, flying the Bell XS-1 #1, Capt. Charles 'Chuck’ Yeager, USAF, became the first pilot to fly faster than sound. The XS-1, later designated X-l, reached Mach 1.06, 700 mph, at an altitude of 43,000 feet, over the Mojave Desert near Muroc Dry Lake, California. The flight demonstrated that aircraft could be designed to fly faster than sound, and the concept of a ‘sound barrier" crumbled into myth.
- The XS-1 was developed as part of a cooperative program initiated in 1944 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and the U.S. Army Air Forces (later the U.S. Air Force) to develop special manned transonic and supersonic research aircraft. On March 16, 1945, the Army Air Technical Service Command awarded the Bell Aircraft Corporation of Buffalo, New York, a contract to develop three transonic and supersonic research aircraft under project designation MX-653. The Army assigned the designation XS-1 for Experimental Sonic-i. Bell Aircraft built three rocket-powered XS-1 aircraft.
- The National Air and Space Museum now owns the XS-1 #1, serial 46-062, named Glamorous Glennis by Captain Yeager in honor of his wife. The XS-1 #2 (46-063) was flight-tested by NACA and later was modified as the X-1 "Mach 24" research airplane. (The X-1 E is currently on exhibit outside the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.) The X-1 #3 (46-064) had a turbopump-driven, low-pressure fuel feed system. This aircraft, known popularly as the X-1-3 Queenie, was lost in a 1951 explosion on the ground that injured its pilot. Three additional X-1 aircraft, the X-1A, X-1B, and X-1D, were constructed and test-flown. Two of these. the X-1A and X-1D, were also lost, as a result of propulsion system explosions.
- The two XS-1 aircraft were constructed from high-strength aluminum, with propellant tanks fabricated from steel. The first two XS-1 aircraft did not utilize turbopumps for fuel feed to the rocket engine, relying instead on direct nitrogen pressurization of the fuel-feed system. The smooth contours of the XS-1, patterned on the lines of a .50-caliber machine gun bullet, masked an extremely crowded fuselage containing two propellant tanks, twelve nitrogen spheres for fuel and cabin pressurization, the pilot’s pressurized cockpit, three pressure regulators, a retractable landing gear, the wing carry-through structure, a Reaction Motors, Inc., 6.000-pound-thrust rocket engine, and more than five hundred pounds of special flight-test instrumentation.
- Though originally designed for conventional ground takeoffs, all X-1 aircraft were air-launched from Boeing B-29 or B-50 Superfortress aircraft. The performance penalties and safety hazards associated with operating rocket-propelled aircraft from the ground caused mission planners to resort to air-launching instead. Nevertheless, on January 5,1949, the X-1 #1 Glamorous Glennis successfully completed a ground takeoff from Muroc Dry Lake, piloted by Chuck Yeager. The maximum speed attained by the X-1 #1 was Mach 1.45 at 40,130 feet, approximately 957 mph, during a flight by Yeager on March 26, 1948. On August 8,1949, Maj. Frank K. Everest, Jr., USAF, reached an altitude of 71,902 feet, the highest flight made by the little rocket airplane. It continued flight test operations until mid-1950, by which time it had completed a total of nineteen contractor demonstration flights and fifty-nine Air Force test flights.
- On August 26, 1950, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg presented the X-1 #1 to Alexander Wetmore, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The X-1, General Vandenberg stated, "marked the end of the first great period of the air age, and the beginning of the second. In a few moments the subsonic period became history and the supersonic period was born." Earlier, Bell Aircraft President Lawrence D. Bell, NACA scientist John Stack, and Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager had received the 1947 Robert J. Collier Trophy for their roles in first exceeding the speed of sound and opening the pathway to practical supersonic flight.
- Alternate Name
- Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis
- Key Accomplishment(s)
- Broke the Sound Barrier
- Impact or Innovation
- The X-1 proved an aircraft could travel faster than sound and gathered transonic flight data that is still valuable.
- Brief Description
- On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. It was piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager who named the aircraft Glamorous Glennis in tribute to his wife.
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- Location
- National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
- Exhibition
- Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall
- Date
- 1946
- Inventory Number
- A19510007000
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the Department of the Air Force
- Manufacturer
- Bell Aircraft Corp.
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Materials
- Overall: Aluminum, radium paint
- Dimensions
- Other: 10 ft. 8 1/2 in. × 30 ft. 9 in. × 28 ft., 2780.5kg (326.4 × 937.3 × 853.4cm, 6130lb.)
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- CRAFT-Aircraft
- Record ID
- nasm_A19510007000
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
Hatch, Crew, Apollo 11 (3D Model)
Object Details
- Summary
- This hatch was the main crew hatch on "Columbia" (CM-107), the Command Module flown on the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. The Apollo hatch had to provide a perfect seal for proper cabin pressurization, thermal protection during re-entry, and water-tight conditions during splashdown and recovery. An example of the "unified hatch" designed following the fatal Apollo 204 fire in January 1967, the Apollo 11 hatch covered the side opening in both the pressurized cabin and the external heat shield that covered the spacecraft.
- The hatch was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution by the NASA Johnson Space Center in 1970.
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- Inventory Number
- A19791810000
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the NASA-Johnson Space Center
- Manufacturer
- Rockwell International Corporation
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Title
- Hatch, Crew, Apollo 11
- Materials
- Metal, glass
- Dimensions
- Overall: 2 ft. 5 1/2 in. × 3 ft. 3 3/8 in. × 10 5/8 in., 129.7kg (75 × 100 × 27cm, 286lb.)
- Other (Window): 10 5/8in. (27cm)
- Support (Display stand (2017)): 25.9kg (57lb.)
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply [cc0 present on resource page]
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Manned-Parts & Structural Components
- Record ID
- nasm_A19791810000
- Metadata Usage
- Not determined
Command Module, Apollo 11, Interior (3D Model)
Object Details
- Summary
- The Apollo 11 Command Module, "Columbia," was the living quarters for the three-person crew during most of the first crewed lunar landing mission in July 1969. On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were launched from Cape Kennedy atop a Saturn V rocket. This Command Module, no. 107, manufactured by North American Rockwell, was one of three parts of the complete Apollo spacecraft. The other two parts were the Service Module and the Lunar Module, nicknamed "Eagle." The Service Module contained the main spacecraft propulsion system and consumables while the Lunar Module was the two-person craft used by Armstrong and Aldrin to descend to the Moon's surface on July 20. The Command Module is the only portion of the spacecraft to return to Earth.
- It was physically transferred to the Smithsonian in 1971 following a NASA-sponsored tour of American cities. The Apollo CM Columbia has been designated a "Milestone of Flight" by the Museum.
- Alternate Name
- Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia
- Key Accomplishment(s)
- First Lunar Landing Mission
- Brief Description
- The Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia, carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon and back on the first lunar landing mission in July, 1969.
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- Location
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
- Hangar
- Boeing Aviation Hangar
- Inventory Number
- A19700102000
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Astronaut
- Buzz Aldrin
- Michael Collins
- Neil A. Armstrong, 1930 - 2012
- Manufacturer
- North American Rockwell
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Title
- Command Module, Apollo 11
- Materials
- Primary Materials: Aluminum alloy, Stainless steel, Titanium
- Dimensions
- Overall: 8 ft. 11 in. × 12 ft. 10 in., 9130lb. (271.8 × 391.2cm, 4141.3kg)
- Other: 1 ft. 10 in. (55.9cm)
- Support (at base width): 12 ft. 10 in. (391.2cm) Overall capsule on stand height: 10'9"
- Support (Stand): 2035.7kg (4488lb.)
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Manned
- Record ID
- nasm_A19700102000
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
Command Module, Apollo 11 (3D Model)
Object Details
- Summary
- The Apollo 11 Command Module, "Columbia," was the living quarters for the three-person crew during most of the first crewed lunar landing mission in July 1969. On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were launched from Cape Kennedy atop a Saturn V rocket. This Command Module, no. 107, manufactured by North American Rockwell, was one of three parts of the complete Apollo spacecraft. The other two parts were the Service Module and the Lunar Module, nicknamed "Eagle." The Service Module contained the main spacecraft propulsion system and consumables while the Lunar Module was the two-person craft used by Armstrong and Aldrin to descend to the Moon's surface on July 20. The Command Module is the only portion of the spacecraft to return to Earth.
- It was physically transferred to the Smithsonian in 1971 following a NASA-sponsored tour of American cities. The Apollo CM Columbia has been designated a "Milestone of Flight" by the Museum.
- Alternate Name
- Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia
- Key Accomplishment(s)
- First Lunar Landing Mission
- Brief Description
- The Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia, carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon and back on the first lunar landing mission in July, 1969.
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- Location
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
- Hangar
- Boeing Aviation Hangar
- Inventory Number
- A19700102000
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Astronaut
- Buzz Aldrin
- Michael Collins
- Neil A. Armstrong, 1930 - 2012
- Manufacturer
- North American Rockwell
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Title
- Command Module, Apollo 11
- Materials
- Primary Materials: Aluminum alloy, Stainless steel, Titanium
- Dimensions
- Overall: 8 ft. 11 in. × 12 ft. 10 in., 9130lb. (271.8 × 391.2cm, 4141.3kg)
- Other: 1 ft. 10 in. (55.9cm)
- Support (at base width): 12 ft. 10 in. (391.2cm) Overall capsule on stand height: 10'9"
- Support (Stand): 2035.7kg (4488lb.)
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Manned
- Record ID
- nasm_A19700102000
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
Orbiter, Space Shuttle, OV-103, Discovery (3D Model)
- Summary
- Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle to fly in space. It entered service in 1984 and retired from spaceflight as the oldest and most accomplished orbiter, the champion of the shuttle fleet. Discovery flew on 39 Earth-orbital missions, spent a total of 365 days in space, and traveled almost 240 million kilometers (150 million miles)--more than the other orbiters. It shuttled 184 men and women into space and back, many of whom flew more than once, for a record-setting total crew count of 251.
- Because Discovery flew every kind of mission the Space Shuttle was meant to fly, it embodies well the 30-year history of U.S. human spaceflight from 1981 to 2011. Named for renowned sailing ships of exploration, Discovery is preserved as intact as possible as it last flew in 2011 on the 133rd Space Shuttle mission.
- NASA transferred Discovery to the Smithsonian in April 2012 after a delivery flight over the nation's capital.
- Alternate Name
- Space Shuttle Discovery
- Key Accomplishment(s)
- Champion of the Shuttle Fleet
- Brief Description
- Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter to fly in space. From 1984 to 2012, Discovery flew 39 Earth-orbital missions, spent a total of 365 days in space, and traveled almost 240 million km (150 million mi) —more than the other orbiters.
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- Location
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
- Hangar
- James S. McDonnell Space Hangar
- Inventory Number
- A20120325000
- Credit Line
- Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Manufacturer
- Rockwell International Corporation
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Materials
- Airframe: aluminum alloys, titanium
- Surface: silica tiles, reinforced carbon carbon RCC nose cap and wing leading edges
- Interior: many materials (aluminum, fabric, beta cloth, velcro, etc.)
- Dimensions
- Overall: 24.314m x 17.768m x 38.03m, 73176.5kg (78 ft. x 57 ft. x 122 ft., 161325lb.)
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Manned
- Record ID
- nasm_A20120325000
- Metadata Usage
- CC0