Aerospace Weekend Celebrations in Dayton, Ohio

This weekend kicks of celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Apollo missions crew members are reuniting tonight in Dayton at the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) for the 2009 Milton Caniff "Spirit of Flight" Award Ceremony. Legendary Apollo 11 crew members Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin are among the award recipients.

Tonight is the first time in years these American heroes have been assembled together, but there's more going on in Dayton celebrating aviation history this weekend. The National Aviation Hall of Fame, on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is enshrining the late film star Jimmy Stewart, a WWII bomber pilot and airpower advocate. NAHF will also enshrine Eileen Collins, U.S. Air Force test pilot and first female Shuttle commander; Russell Meyer, Jr., former Chairman and CEO of Cessna Aircraft Company; and the late Edward H. White II, Gemini and Apollo missions astronaut who lost his life in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire in 1967.

Dayton has always played an important part in the development of American aviation technology, from the birth of flight as home of the Wright Brothers to the latest aeropropulsion military advances today. It's no wonder the Dayton Air Show, also taking place this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, is one of the most popular events of its kind in the country.