![]() After falling away from the external tank, the frustums were jettisoned and recovered separately. In flight, the forward assemblies held the avionics, forward separation motors and drogue and main parachutes for each booster. 4), followed by the port, or left-side, rocket on Tuesday (Dec. The starboard, or right-side, booster was completed on Monday (Dec. (Image credit: California Science Center) Workers complete the installation of a forward assembly atop one of the solid rocket boosters for the launchpad-like exhibit of NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour. Standing atop metal and wood scaffolding, workers then secured the hardware by inserting 195 one-inch-diameter (2.54-centimeter) metal pins. Just one month after crane operators hoisted into place the large segments for the two solid rocket boosters (SRBs), they were back in motion this week topping off the towering rockets with the forward assemblies.Ĭomprised of a nose cap, frustum, ordnance ring and forward skirt, each 27-foot-tall (8.2-meter), 10,000-pound (4,500-kilogram) assembly was raised from the street and lifted more than 100 feet (30.5 meters) into the air before being lowered onto a booster. Times staff writer Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.The work to stand up two rockets for the launchpad-like exhibit of NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour has been capped - literally and figuratively - with the addition of two nose cones.Īs the California Science Center prepares to take Endeavour off public display for the next few years, the first major components for the orbiter's vertical exhibit are now complete at the construction site for the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Los Angeles. “It’s pretty exciting to see this first step in fulfilling a decadeslong journey,” he said. Rudolph said there have been plans for more than 30 years to exhibit a full space shuttle in launch configuration, and now they are about to make that vision a reality. I think it will truly be a transformational experience.” I could actually do that.’” Phillips said. ![]() “I want to see them walk through there, … and for them to know what an epiphany it is where you have this amazing insight and you think, ‘Oh wait a minute, I could actually do that. Phillips said he hopes the space shuttle will inspire people, especially kids, to get involved with space exploration, aeronautics and exploring the universe. He said the building construction will take about two more years to complete and it could take at least an additional year to move other artifacts into the building.Īs a way to protect the stack while construction of the new center continues, scaffolding will be built around it, which will be covered with plywood and Kevlar fabric. It could take at least three years before the new center will open to the public, said Ken Phillips, curator for aerospace science at the California Science Center. This will be the last chance for guests to see the space shuttle up close for years before Endeavour will be on view again at the space center. Museum guests will have until the end of the year to see Endeavour on display before it’s moved. In 2012, the Endeavour captivated people across California as it flew past the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood sign atop a Boeing 747, before it underwent a three-day trek on land over the 405 Freeway and across the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood to its home at the California Science Center. The new location will give guests views from multiple platforms, including from beneath the orbiter’s three main engines as well as from above, looking through a glass floor directly at its nose.Įndeavour flew 25 missions, with its first mission in 1992 and its last in 2011. All four elements combined are called a shuttle’s full stack. ![]() The famed spacecraft that has been on horizontal display at the science center is in the process of moving to a permanent location in what will be the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where the vehicle will be mounted in a vertical position, along with the solid rocket boosters and an orange external tank, making it look like it’s ready to launch. The space shuttle Endeavour began the first part of its journey to its final resting place Thursday, an effort more than a decade in the making after arriving at the California Science Center museum in 2012.
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