![]() “And that, I think, will inspire so many people. And it’s almost overwhelming how huge it is,” Rudolph said. “That’s the view we’re gonna give people - like, they’re right at the base of the launchpad looking up at this shuttle stack. Roughly halfway through the building’s construction, the shuttle will be moved into the structure, and the rest of the building will then be finished.Īstronauts have cheered the Science Center for designing the exhibit so that people will be able to see the last space shuttle ever built in a way relatively few have seen it before. Building construction of the California Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will probably take three years, but it will take longer for the interior to be completed. Once complete, the exhibit will be what’s believed to be the tallest vertical authentic spacecraft display in the world. Of the three surviving space shuttles, Endeavour will be the only one displayed with its nose pointing to the stars, and will be fully attached to the last remaining authentic orange external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The Associated Press contributed to this report.In a milestone, the Los Angeles home of the retired space shuttle Endeavour broke ground Wednesday on a permanent museum, which ultimately envisions the spacecraft displayed as if ready for launch. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.Įnterprise, which was released from a carrier aircraft for approach and landing tests, is displayed at the Intrepid Museum in New York. Discovery rests on its landing gear at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. ![]() Retired shuttles Atlantis and Discovery and the test ship Enterprise, which did not go to space, are on display across the country.Ītlantis is at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where it is displayed as if in orbit with its payload doors open and robotic arm extended. 28, 1986. Columbia broke apart during reentry on Feb. Shuttle Challenger was lost and its crew of seven died in a launch accident Jan. In all, NASA operated five shuttles in space. The 116-foot-long (35.3-meter-long) rocket motors were trucked to Los Angeles from the Mojave Desert in October and installed the following month. In use, the boosters would be attached to the external tank to help the shuttle's main engines lift off. The “Go for Stack" assembly began in July with installation of the bottom segments of the side boosters, known as aft skirts, for the first time outside of a NASA facility. The external tank arrived by barge and made a similar crawl to the Science Center. That spectacle in the sky was followed by a slow move through tight city streets to Exposition Park. The shuttle was flown to Los Angeles International Airport in 2012 on the back of a NASA Boeing 747. When the project is complete, Endeavour will be the only launch-ready display of a former NASA space shuttle in the world.Īn opening date for the $400 million center has not yet been determined.Įndeavour flew 25 missions between 19, when NASA’s shuttle program ended. The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will nearly double the Science Center's educational exhibition space and include three multi-level galleries, themed for air, space and shuttle.Įndeavour had been on display horizontally at the Science Center for more than a decade after its spectacular arrival in Los Angeles on the back of an airliner. The highly technical move continued for several hours.Įndeavour's final flight comes 13 years after its retirement. "We'll lift it over and attach it to the waiting external tank." "Very slowly, we will lower the back part of the shuttle, remove the back crane, and then we'll have the entire shuttle on one cable point," said curator Dr. About the next big move for Endeavour at the California Science Center
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |