And we’ll be the only place in the world with a stack of all real hardware,” Jenkins said. One of the payload bay doors will be open and viewable to the public.Įndeavour, the so-called jewel of the shuttle fleet that flew 25 missions in space, will be viewable from multiple platforms – including beneath the orbiter’s three main engines as well as looking down, through a glass floor, directly at its nose. It also has an authentic portable unit called Spacehab, which was used as a lab or storage pod – the only remaining shuttle to have such equipment – in its payload bay. The exhibit is believed to be the tallest authentic spacecraft displayed vertically in the world. The exhibit will hold “the only shuttle in the whole world in launch position.” “It’s a dream come true, for sure,” said Lynda Oschin, wife of the late Los Angeles businessman and philanthropist Samuel Oschin, an avid space enthusiast and namesake of the new museum. A three-day journey through city streets brought Endeavour to its permanent museum home at the California Science Center. It will be a crowning achievement 11 years after the last space shuttle built captivated Californians as it made its final flight aboard a Boeing 747, past the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood sign, before landing in L.A. In a dramatic finale that could come as early as January, cranes – the tallest of which will be about the height of City Hall – will raise the spacecraft from its horizontal position to point vertically for its final display, where the rest of the museum will then be built around it. It could be years before Endeavour will again be available for up-close viewing to museum guests. 31 before the shuttle is carefully moved to the new building site. It also marks the countdown for Endeavour to conclude its exhibition in a horizontal position, which will end Dec. Thursday’s announcement comes about a year after ground was broken on the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Even a slight misalignment could cause major problems later on – making it impossible to connect the solid rocket boosters to the external tank, and the external tank to Endeavour. “You could arguably say (the base of the boosters are) the most critical piece to put in because they determine how everything else works,” said Dennis Jenkins, project director for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Eventually, all half-million pounds of the full stack – including the shuttle Endeavour and a giant orange external tank – will rest on the base of the solid rocket boosters, bolted to the ground by eight supersized, superalloy fasteners that are 9 feet long and weigh 500 to 600 pounds. It’ll be the first of many delicate maneuvers conducted over roughly six months (if the weather cooperates). Workers will use a 300-ton crane to lower the bottom sections of the twin solid rocket boosters, which are 10,000 pounds apiece and roughly 9 feet tall, to the freshly built lowest section of the partly constructed $400-million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. To get ready for the grand move, the state-run museum announced Thursday that crews will begin the installation of the base of the shuttle’s full stack on July 20. LOS ANGELES – After more than a decade on display at the California Science Center, the space shuttle Endeavour will begin the final trek to its permanent home at a new Los Angeles building in the coming months.