#See an X-Wing from ‘Star Wars’ Next Year at the Smithsonian – Review Geek

One of the most iconic items in movie history is the X-Wing Starfighter from the legendary Star Wars film franchise. And in 2022, you’ll be able to see a screen-used prop from 2019’s Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker at the Smithsonian.

The beloved fictional spacecraft is on loan from Lucasfilm Ltd. It’s currently parked at the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, undergoing conservation. There, museum conservators clean the prop and check for any damage that might have occurred during transit, as the ship was transported in pieces.

In late 2022, the T-70X-Wing will be moved just outside Washington D.C.’s Albert Einstein Planetarium at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. There, teams will work to reassemble the ship from the pieces it was shipped in and hang it by rigging from the ceiling at the museum. An impressive feat, given that the prop’s wingspan measures 37 feet.

“We are thrilled to have an X-Wing on exhibit,” stated Margaret Weitekamp, space history chair at the museum. “It’s a real screen-used vehicle from the 2019 film Rise of Skywalker. This display speaks to that crossover connection between people who are excited about space flight and have been inspired by the visions Star Wars has been putting out since 1977.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXHUFxsv_kI

This isn’t the first time a piece of Star Wars history has been on display at Washington’s iconic Smithsonian museum. Previously, in 1997, a curated collection of costumes and props were a featured exhibition, dubbed Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, including a production model of the Millennium Falcon. The exhibition explored the themes of creator George Lucas.

Other science-fiction spacecraft have spent time at the Smithsonian, too, like 2016 exhibit from the Star Trek TV series. The exhibition, titled Boldly Go 50, put the studio model of the Starship Enterprise on display. Others, like 2001: A Space Odyssey also shared the limelight a few years back.

There’s no doubt that being able to see the iconic X-Wing in real life, even though it’s just a movie prop, will put a smile on every Star Wars fan who gets to see it.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine