The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will project the image of a full-scale, 363-foot Saturn V rocket directly onto the east face of the Washington Monument next weekend, the museum announced.
The projection of the 363-foot Saturn V rocket on the monument can be seen on July 16, 17, and 18 from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm as a preview before the full show to follow on July 19 and 20.
The digitally projected image of the Apollo 11 mission rocket will also include s special “Apollo 50: Go for the Moon” event that will take place on July 19 and 20 when a 17-minute program will play on nearby screens, recreating the iconic launch of Apollo 11 and detailing the story surrounding the first ever moon landing.
The 17-minute show will combine full-motion projection mapping artwork and archival footage to recreate the launch of Apollo 11. The show will unfold on the face of the Washington Monument and supporting screens, including a 40-foot-wide recreation of the famous Kennedy Space Center countdown clock.
The event is free to the public and was commissioned by the Air and Space Museum and is being produced by Fifty-Nine Productions in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Boeing and Raytheon have also contributed funds.
“The Washington Monument is a symbol of our collective national achievements and what we can and will achieve in the future. It took 400,000 people from across the 50 states to make Apollo a reality. This program celebrates them, and we hope it inspires generations too young to have experienced Apollo firsthand to define their own moonshot,” Ellen Stofan, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum director, told DCist.com.
