Missile and Space Gallery to re-open July 3 Published June 11, 2015 By Rob Bardua National Museum of the U.S. Air Force DAYTON, Ohio -- The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force's Missile and Space Gallery will re-open on July 3 after being closed for nearly seven months for construction linking the gallery to the museum's new fourth building. As exhibits are prepared for final placement and others are transitioned for display in the fourth building, occasional intermittent closures of the gallery may still occur. Visitors are encouraged to check the museum's website for the latest updates. According to Museum Director Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson, the re-opening of the Missile and Space Gallery during the busy summer travel season has been highly anticipated. "We know that many of our visitors have been eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the Missile and Space Gallery, and we are extremely pleased to be able to re-open it and provide access to the Cold War Gallery overlook once again," said Hudson. The 224,000 square foot fourth building, which is scheduled to open to the public in the spring of 2016, will house four new galleries - Presidential, Research and Development, Space and Global Reach, along with three science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Learning Nodes. The museum also recently announced that the Space Shuttle Exhibit and current STEM Learning Node will close beginning Aug. 3 in preparation for their move to the fourth building. In addition, the C-141 Hanoi Taxi, in the Air Park, and Long-EZ, X-5 and X-15 in the R&D Gallery are scheduled to be moved to the museum's restoration area in late June for refurbishment prior to their move to the fourth building. "This is an exciting time at the museum as we move forward toward completion of our new fourth building and the grand opening in spring 2016," Hudson said. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world's largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286. NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, contact Rob Bardua in the National Museum of the United States Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1386 or robert.bardua@us.af.mil. Updated artist renderings are available at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/expansion.asp and a conceptual video is available at http://www.dvidshub.net/video/340148/4th-building-concept-national-museum-us-air-force.