Endeavor Rises

Aerial view of construction site, Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. California Science Center

On July 20, the California Science Center will begin a six-month-long process of stacking the components of Space Shuttle Endeavor at their new site. Ultimately the Endeavor will stand upright, 200 ft high. Just turning it 90 degrees is a formidable challenge, for it will be taller and heavier than any Egyptian obelisk. A 400-ft-high crane will raise the spacecraft's nose as a shorter one raises the tail. The Endeavor will come to rest on a base isolation system, similar to that used in recent construction at the Academy Museum and LACMA, to minimize shaking an earthquake. Once Endeavor is in place, the 100,000-sf Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will be built around it.

Solid rocket boosters and an external fuel tank will be stacked first, allowing the Endeavor to remain on display in its temporary hall until Dec. 31, 2023. 

Designed by ZGF, the four-floor Oschin Center will also find room for 20 aircraft, including a Korean Airlines Boeing 747; a working wind tunnel; flown modules from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo-Soyuz missions; a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

The Science Center says it has raised $320 million towards a $400 million goal for the new building. Admission will be free. 

Space Shuttle Endeavor

Rendering of vertical display in Samuel Oschine Air and Space Center