SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Amid crowds of cheering spectators, The Museum of Flight in Seattle today welcomed the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment, the most recognizable piece of the Shuttle Trainer. Arriving from Houstons Johnson Space Center aboard NASAs Super Guppy aircraft, the event kicked off ShuttleFest 2012, a week-long celebration to commemorate the historic artifacts arrival to its final home.

Museum of Flight President and CEO Doug King, Gov. Christine Gregoire, Congressman Jim McDermott and other dignitaries hosted a celebration to welcome the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment, which is 28.75 feet long, 19 feet wide and 23.5 feet high. After its arrival, the Space Shuttle Trainer was gingerly removed from the nose-cone of NASAs Super Guppy before being slowly transported across East Marginal Way to its final resting place inside The Museum of Flights Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. The Shuttle Trainer is being delivered in several stages over the coming months, with the Payload Bay also arriving aboard the Super Guppy in two stages later this summer.

Todays historic arrival marks an exciting step forward in the continued evolution and growth of the aerospace industry in Washington state and helps launch the next era of space flight, said Museum of Flight President and CEO Doug King. The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery will be one of the premier aerospace galleries in the world and will serve to inspire future generations of aviation and aerospace entrepreneurs.

Built in the 1970s, the Shuttle Trainer is the only one of its kind in the world and is the simulator in which each of the 335 space shuttle astronauts trained. It will be on display in the 15,500-square-foot Charles Simonyi Space Gallery, where it joins a collection of other rare space artifacts including Simonyis Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft and interactive exhibits showcasing space travel from the earliest days of the space shuttle program to the future of commercial space flight.

For more information on the arrival of the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment and The Museum of Flight, please contact Mike Bush at (253) 307-3225, mbush@museumofflight.org or Lee Keller at (206) 799-3805, lee@thekellergroup.com.

ShuttleFest 2012 is sponsored by Boeing and BECU.

About The Museum of Flight

The independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, attracting more than 400,000 visitors annually. The museums collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the Red Barnthe original manufacturing facility of The Boeing Co. The museums aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 100,000 individuals are served annually by the museums on-site and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Associations of Museums, and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. For more information on The Museum of Flight, visit http://www.museumofflight.org.

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Seattle’s Museum of Flight Welcomes Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment