The center's foundation has raised $320 million of the $400 million goal for the project.Įxposition Park is between the University of Southern California and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Construction of the Air and Space Center will be completed around the full shuttle stack. The shuttle will be moved across Exposition Park and lifted by a crane to be intricately mated to the external tank. 31 will be the last chance to see Endeavour as it has been displayed horizontally in the landing position for years since arrival at the center. The center said in a statement that stacking the components of the shuttle system is a complex process that has never been undertaken outside a NASA facility.ĭec. When NASA’s shuttles were retired, Endeavour was flown to California atop NASA’s special Boeing 747 shuttle carrier in 2012, drawing crowds as it flew over locations in the state associated with the space program.Īfter landing at Los Angeles International Airport, the shuttle was placed on a special trailer and then created a sensation as it was inched through tight city streets to the California Science Center over several days.Ī groundbreaking ceremony for the Air and Space Center was held last year on the 11th anniversary of Endeavour's final return from space. The 20-story tall display will show the shuttle as it would appear waiting on a launch pad.Įndeavour was built as a replacement for the destroyed shuttle Challenger and flew 25 missions between 19. The initial step, dubbed “Go for Stack,” will be installation of the bottom portion of the solid rocket boosters known as aft skirts upon which will be stacked the booster segments, the external tank and then Endeavour. The California Science Center announced Thursday that the six-month process will get underway July 20 at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center currently under construction in Exposition Park. It will remain off-limits until the new Samuel Oschin Center opens.LOS ANGELES (AP) - The lengthy process of putting the retired space shuttle Endeavour on display in the vertical launch position will begin this month in Los Angeles. The move means the space shuttle Endeavour will be unavailable for public viewing after Dec. "We are grateful to be at this point in the construction of the new Air and Space Center, and thrilled to start `Go for Stack' on July 20 to commemorate Space Exploration Day." "Endeavour will be the star attraction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a launchpad for creativity and innovation that will inspire future generations of scientists, engineers and explorers," Jeff Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, said in a statement. After that, the effort will begin to lift the massive external fuel tank, known as ET-94, into a vertical position, followed by the intricate lifting of the shuttle itself by a large crane to its new location and positioning into a 200-foot-tall vertical display. The effort will begin with the installation of "aft skirts," on which the solid rocket motors will be stacked to form the solid rocket boosters. The new center is not expected to open until 2025, but July 20 will mark the beginning of a six-month "Go for Stack" process. Once fully stacked, the 20-story-tall vertical display will be the only ready-for-launch Space Shuttle system in the world in terms of its staging and appearance. But construction began last year on the center's $400 million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which will house the shuttle in the vertical launch position with the rocket boosters and fuel tank. The shuttle has been on display horizontally at the Science Center for 11 years. California Science Center officials later this month will begin the process of reconfiguring the space shuttle Endeavour into a planned vertical display with rocket boosters and an external fuel tank, marking the first time such a feat will have been performed with a shuttle outside of a NASA facility.
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