Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage conditions may apply

This is an engineering control and display unit for the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, which operated from 1978 to 1996. The unit was the first of five engineering control consoles designed and built by the Bendix Corporation for NASA and the European Space Agency. It is nearly identical to the scientific control consoles used in the IUE control center in Building 21 of Goddard Space Flight Center. This particular console, however, came from the Engineering unit in Building 4. The center section contains two CRTs, a keyboard, and a joystick. Facades simulating a minicomputer and disk drive are attached at the right. The unit was refurbished at the Garber facility in 1982 for display in the National Air and Space Museum's "Stars" gallery. The instrument facades, a keyboard, a teleprinter, and a working CRT were added at that time to simulate a working IUE console. The unit was transferred to NASM by NASA in 1982; it was on display in the Stars gallery from then until the exhibit closed in 1997. Preserved with the console are paper notes, memoranda, and other ephemera typical of an operating environment.

Display Status

This object is on display in James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

James S. McDonnell Space Hangar
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type EQUIPMENT-Ground Control Apparatus Manufacturer Bendix Corporation Aerospace Division
Digital Equipment Corporation
Ramtek, Inc.
Dimensions 3-D: 236.2 x 129.5 x 127cm (93 x 51 x 50 in.)
Materials Steel, plastic, glass and electronics
Alternate Name IUE Control and Display Console Inventory Number A19830025000 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and gift of parts by Ramtek Inc., and the Digital Equipment Corporation Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.