Manassas and the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Virginia

We were running a little short of time yesterday, so rearranged our schedule and visited Manassas and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum near Dulles airport. The Museum houses some of the larger aircraft that aren’t practical to move downtown to the main facility on the Mall. The highlight is the most impressive man-made object I have ever seen – the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Named after Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise, it was the first space shuttle built for NASA. Constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, its main purpose was to conduct flight tests in the atmosphere. It is breathtaking (click on the photo on the right). They also have an Air France Concorde SST, and the Enola Gay, the B29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Here is Teressa’s journal entry for the day for those who want all the details…

Much cooler today and light rain. Temps were in the 40’s. Gary’s cold is in full swing. We spent the morning “home” working on school work. After lunch we drove to Manassas to a Walmart for some supplies and then to the battlefield visitor center. They had a pool table-sized display of the battlefield with red and blue lights to represent the north and south troops and their movement. They had a small museum with some of the tools, guns and uniforms of the troops. One was an old primitive shoe with a ball lodged between the foot and the sole. There was an excellent re-enactment movie about both battles at Manassas. Once again, we walked away sobered by the number of deaths and the methods by which they fought and died. Manassas was the first real battle of the Civil War, not including Fort Sumter where it all began. Both the North and the South believed there would be a quick battle and the war would be over. The battle at Manassas was nearly won by the Union until the Southern troops retreated to Henry’s Hill. There, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson earned his name when he had his Confederate troops formed a line the Union couldn't break.

The South came me up behind Mrs. Judith Henry’s house and surprised the Yankees. The Union turned one of their own cannons on the house killing the 85 year old woman (and a lot of Confederates). Shortly after, the Confederates overcame the Union, sending them running back across Bull Run Creek toward Washington. We paused at the grave of Mrs. Henry which rests outside the reconstructed replica of her home and where the Union constructed a monument honoring the fallen patriots. A statue of General Stonewall Jackson overlooks the battlefield, and at his feet is the grave marker of General Barnard Elliott who coined the nickname “Stonewall” while rallying his troops before he died.

Our next stop was the 2nd part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum located at Dulles airport. They have a control tower where you can look out over Dulles and DC in the distance. But the most amazing thing there is the space shuttle on display. We were amazed at how large it is, and Gary and I were humbled just to be there and ponder the engineering excellence. Gary and the kids did a space shuttle simulation, but weren’t too impressed with the graphics. Nonetheless, Brian and Laura have never seen a shuttle launched, and the simulation showed them what it is like.