The Future of Travel at Reagan National Airport

The Museum of Science Fiction would like to gratefully acknowledge the support and generosity of the
Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority for their help with bringing our our first physical exhibition to
Reagan National Airport, Terminal C Lower Level.                               

Beginning on July 8, 2015, the four-month exhibition features a large-scale Orion III spaceplane from 2001: A Space Odyssey, retro-futuristic travel posters by artist Steve Thomas, and a companion mobile app that will provide visitors with exhibition information, an interstellar passport, and their own "boarding pass to the future." The mobile app has an “Expedia-style” Plan-Your-Visit section to generate a simulated boarding pass that can be emailed to the traveler.                                                                            Press Release

For travelers without iOS mobile devices, boarding passes and passports can be created below.              App Download
 

The Pan Am Orion III Space Clipper
2001: A Space Odyssey

BP Taylor

BP Taylor is a professional model builder with ScottModels in Cincinnati Ohio. Most of his model work involves a wide variety of client projects ranging from consumer product design and toys to film props and display models. BP is an active member of the Association of Professional Model Makers (APMM) and an author of numerous professional model construction articles published in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller Magazine. The Orion will be installed at Reagan National Airport Terminal C Level 1 on July 8.

Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey was a seminal look at what the future of travel could aspire to. In the film, the Orion III spaceplane is used to transport characters from the surface of Earth to Space Station V in orbit around the planet. Its design was one of the most accurate approaches used in science fiction, and was well ahead of its time.

Though we did not have actual passenger spaceplanes with stewardesses in the real year 2001, NASA’s space shuttles and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip One are admirable descendants of this fictional form of commercial transportation throughout the early 21st century.
 

Travel Poster Art

Steve Thomas

The travel poster art by Steve Thomas invites visitors to imagine the potential of interplanetary travel – where we could go, and how we might get there – highlighting the best vacation spots throughout the solar system.

The charming, retro-futuristic posters reference travel posters of the 1940s and 50s, and advertise the best the solar system has to offer, like the Solarmobile Grand Prix race at the Mercury Intergalactic Speedway and rocket propelled zip line tours through the asteroid belt.

Steve graduated from the University of Ohio's Visual Communications school with a degree in informational graphics and page design. Before becoming a freelance illustrator/graphic artist, he worked for newspapers creating graphics and illustrations for 14 years. Today, Steve tries to come up with new and interesting ideas for illustrations. His love for vintage poster, propaganda and product art from the early 20th century and an interest in retro-futuristic art from the mid-20th has fueled the Space Travel series which continues to grow. Steve has also created artwork under such licenses as Star Wars, Disney, Fox, Star Trek, Hasbro, The Muppets, and Marvel.

Before You Go

Exhibition Acknowledgements
 

The Museum of Science fiction would like to thank and convey our deepest appreciation to the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, the exhibition sponsors, Kickstarter Supporters, and the Museum exhibition team that were responsible for making this project possible:                                           Click here to see our Kickstarter Supporters

Regan Samul, Curator
Katherine Kidwell, Associate Curator
BP Taylor, Model Construction
Steve Thomas, Artist
Alexandre Carvalho, CIO, mobile software development
Steve Dreyer, Model Construction Subcom Chairman
John Detrich, Graphics
R. Paul Stimers, K&L Gates
Keith Jodoin, Sapling Pictures