Swiss Transport Museum
Encyclopedia
The Swiss Transport Museum or Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, in Lucerne
, is a museum
, opened in July 1959 and exhibiting all forms of transport
(including locomotive
s, automobile
s, ship
s, and aircraft
) as well as communication
s. The museum also maintains a large collection of work by Hans Erni
, a local painter and sculptor.
There are several other attractions in the museum besides the collection:
It also houses EURECA, a 4.5 tonne satellite among the few space objects put into space and returned safely;EURECA and its return to Earth was a cooperative effort between several Western European countries and the United States in the 1990s.
A Spacelab
Pallet was handed over to the Museum for permanent display on 5 March 2010. The Pallet, nicknamed Elvis, was used during the 8-day STS-46
mission, 31 July - 8 August 1992, when ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier
was on board Shuttle Atlantis to deploy ESA's European Retrievable Carrier (Eureca) scientific mission and the joint NASA/Italian Space Agency
Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1). The Pallet carried TSS-1 in the Shuttle's cargo bay.
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, is a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, opened in July 1959 and exhibiting all forms of transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
(including locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s, automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s, and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
) as well as communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s. The museum also maintains a large collection of work by Hans Erni
Hans Erni
Hans Erni is a Swiss painter, designer and sculptor. Born in Lucerne, he is known in particular for illustrating postage stamps, activism, lithographs for the Swiss Red Cross, and participation on the Olympic Committee. The Hans Erni Museum, situated in the grounds of the Swiss Museum of...
, a local painter and sculptor.
There are several other attractions in the museum besides the collection:
- PlanetariumPlanetariumA planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
- IMAXIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
- Swiss Arena, a 1:20,000 scale aerial photograph of Switzerland
It also houses EURECA, a 4.5 tonne satellite among the few space objects put into space and returned safely;EURECA and its return to Earth was a cooperative effort between several Western European countries and the United States in the 1990s.
A Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
Pallet was handed over to the Museum for permanent display on 5 March 2010. The Pallet, nicknamed Elvis, was used during the 8-day STS-46
STS-46
STS-46 was a NASA space shuttle mission using orbiter Atlantis and launched on 31 July 1992 at 9:56:48 am EDT.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee:...
mission, 31 July - 8 August 1992, when ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier
Claude Nicollier
Claude Nicollier is the first astronaut from Switzerland, and has flown on four Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight was in 1992, and his final spaceflight was in 1999. He took part in two servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope...
was on board Shuttle Atlantis to deploy ESA's European Retrievable Carrier (Eureca) scientific mission and the joint NASA/Italian Space Agency
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy...
Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1). The Pallet carried TSS-1 in the Shuttle's cargo bay.