by way of the Panama Canal) and obtain two flight-proven solid rocket boosters from Northrop Grumman, but also raise the estimated $400 million needed for Endeavour's new home, a reality made possible by a long list of donors led by the Mr. To achieve that goal, the science center not only had to source NASA's last built-for-flight external tank (bringing it L.A. For the past 12 years, the iconic spacecraft had been exhibited raised off the floor on its wheels, but from the start the plan was to permanently showcase Endeavour in its vertical, launch-like configuration. (Image credit: California Science Center)įirst proposed by the science center staff as an a pie-in-the-sky exhibit back in the 1990s, the path to erecting a space shuttle in Exposition Park began becoming a reality with NASA's decision to award Endeavour to the science center for display. "I think we all feel a huge sigh of relief knowing that the hardest part of this whole project and the thing that's never been done before on a site like this is now behind us."Ī sling and crane hold Endeavour in place as fine adjustments are made to align and attach the winged orbiter to its external tank and solid rocket boosters for display inside the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, Tuesday, Jan. "It is just so exciting to have actually completed this and to see a 30-year dream fulfilled," said Jeffrey Rudolph, president and chief executive officer of the California Science Center, in an interview with. The stacking process, which was commonly done to prepare for launches when the space shuttle program was active, was carried out this last time to erect Endeavour's display in the still under construction Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center. 29-30), two large cranes carefully lifted NASA's retired winged orbiter Endeavour off a Los Angeles side street into the air and then lowered it onto an already-standing external tank with twin solid rocket boosters. Overnight Monday into the early hours of Tuesday (Jan. A complete space shuttle is standing upright for the first time in more than a decade.
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