SEATTLE, Feb. 10, 2012--Today the Museum took delivery of the first large artifact for its new Space Gallery today - a Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. The three-person vehicle arrived in a large wooden crate on flatbed truck, and was met by Museum officials, representatives of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, and the spacecraft's owner - and loaner - Charles Simonyi. Simonyi was onboard the Soyuz when it was flown to the International Space Station in 2009. Simonyi later bought the vehicle and has given it to The Museum of Flight on a long-term loan. Very pleased, the two-time space traveler was happy to be a part of the historic moment, chatting with Museum visitors and posing for photos with a group young students on a school field trip. The gallery is named for Simonyi.
The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery's centerpiece, the space shuttle Full-Fuselage Trainer, will be delivered to the Museum in May.
Photo: Charles Simonyi (left) shakes hands with The Museum of Flight Chief Curator Dan Hagedorn in front of Soyuz spacraft. The Soyuz is on long-term loan to the Museum from Simonyi, who flew in the spacecraft in 2009, and later bought the used vehicle from the Russian Space Agency.
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