WASHINGTON — "Star Wars' fanatics won't have to travel to a galaxy far, far away in order to awe over a life-sized replica of one of the franchise's most iconic spaceships.
Starting in 2022, the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum will display an X-Wing Starfighter model from the latest 'Star Wars' trilogy. The x-wing will sit at the entrance of the museum's Albert Einstein Planetarium, located on the National Mall. The detailed replica with a 37-foot wingspan is currently housed at the museum's reservation hanger in Fairfax County for restorations, where it is also on public display.
"Star Wars introduced generations of fans here on Earth to outer space as a setting for adventure and exploration,” said Margaret Weitekamp, chair of space history at the museum. “All air and space milestones begin with inspiration, and science fiction so often provides that spark. The iconic X-wing displayed amid our other spacecraft celebrates the journey from imagination to achievement.”
The Smithsonian did not provide a specific date in 2022 for when the X-Wing would be moved to its main site.
Lucasfilm -- the producing studio of the "Star Wars" series -- has indefinitely lent the model to the Smithsonian Institute. The museum previously curated a 1997 "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth" exhibit that displayed props and costumes from the original trilogy.
The D.C. museum currently remains closed because of COVID restrictions, though it is set to reopen on July 31. The main site is also currently undergoing extensive renovations to "reimagine" 23 of its galleries, as stated on the museum's website.
Fairfax's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center -- the museum's second location fitted with a restoration hangar -- is now open to visitors who have obtained timed tickets.