Endeavour goes on display in launch position in Los Angeles
The retired shuttle will anchor a new California Science Center exhibition scheduled to open in November.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
2 min read
The space shuttle Endeavour has gone on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, AFP reported, giving the retired orbiter a new public role after 25 trips to orbit. The shuttle will serve as the centerpiece of an exhibition scheduled to open in November, according to the report.
Endeavour was built after the 1986 Challenger disaster and later flew 25 successful missions between 1992 and 2011, AFP reported. Across those flights, the orbiter spent 299 days in space.
The California Science Center is presenting Endeavour as part of what its president and chief executive, Jeffrey N. Rudolph, described to AFP as the only place where visitors will be able to view a complete authentic space shuttle system. The display places the orbiter upright, in launch position, rather than horizontally as many museum aircraft and spacecraft are shown.
A full shuttle stack
AFP reported that the display stands about as tall as a 20-story building. Endeavour is attached to two solid rocket boosters and ET-94, the external tank that held the fuel and oxidizer used to send the shuttle toward orbit.
Kenneth E. Phillips, a curator at the California Science Center, told AFP the institution wanted visitors to understand the scale and complexity of the shuttle system. He said the exhibition gives the public a chance to see the spacecraft at close range.
The vertical presentation is central to the museum’s plan, according to AFP. Visitors will be able to ride an elevator in the access tower to the level where crews entered the orbiter before launch.
AFP reported that visitors will also be able to go higher in the structure and stand on a glass floor, offering a view down into parts of the spacecraft’s inner workings. The arrangement is designed around the shuttle as it appeared before launch, with the orbiter, boosters and external tank combined into one system.
Endeavour’s flight history
Endeavour was assembled using recycled parts from Discovery and Atlantis, two earlier shuttles in NASA’s fleet, AFP reported. NASA built the orbiter to replace Challenger, which exploded in 1986.
The shuttle’s final mission was commanded by Mark Kelly, AFP reported. Kelly is now a Democratic senator from Arizona and has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, according to the report.
With the new exhibition, the California Science Center is turning a spacecraft built for flight into a fixed public display, AFP reported. The museum plans to open the Endeavour exhibition to visitors in November.
This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.