What happens when you mix 2,500 show planes, 10,000 private aircraft, hundreds of exhibits and technical forums conducted by aviation leaders, and more than 750,000 visitors? You have one spectacular airshow !! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture, held at Oshkosh, Wisconsin's Wittman Regional Airport from July 23 through July 29, 2002. The event featured antique and classic planes, "homebuilts," aerobatic aircraft, commercial aircraft, and even a few military planes.
Representatives from the NASA Glenn Microgravity Science Division set up and staffed the OBPR exhibit on research conducted on the International Space Station. Our exhibit followed the OBPR theme of "Transforming Tomorrow Today", and included the ISS U. S. Laboratory Module/FCF Mockup, the new OBPR Life Sciences Robot, the Microgravity Demonstrator (Mini-Drop Tower), the "Picture Yourself in Space" photo booth, and the ISS Model Kiosk. The ISS U. S. Lab featured mockups of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (CIR, SAR and FIR), the Materials Science Research Rack #1, the Microgravity Science Glovebox, and the EXPRESS rack.
The exhibit was housed in the "EAA Countdown to Kitty Hawk" Pavilion and complemented the other large NASA aeronautics, aerospace technology and aerospace propulsion and education exhibits. By all accounts, the exhibit was a great success. Both EAA staff and many Air Show attendees offered numerous compliments on the hands-on educational/interactive nature of the exhibit. The photo booth was a very popular attraction for all ages and averaged about 800 photos daily. Thousands of NASA meatball-decorated plastic bags, NASA decals and thousands of pieces of literature and posters on Physical Sciences Research and the ISS Program were distributed to visitors.
Images from OBPR exhibit at Oshkosh AirVenture '02
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| The NASA Robot amuses airshow exhibit staffers while visitors get their photos taken at the "Picture Yourself in Space" photobooth |
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| The Fluids and Combustion racks inside the U.S. Lab mockup on display for visitors to EAA AirVenture 02 |
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MSD's Previous Years at Oshkosh |
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Responsible NASA person: Ihor Kiryk, NASA GRC
Web curator: Dawn Jenkins, InDyne, Inc.