This piece provided all the propellants for the main engines in the space shuttle, Rudolph said, and is the only flight-ready external tank left in the world. In early January, crews will move the large orange external tank known as “ET-94” to the east end of the California Science Center and bolt it to the solid rocket motors in the new building. These 52 ton parts were secured to the base of the rockets inside the soon-to-be Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Next, the museum stacked a pair of 116 foot high solid rocket motors directly above those aft skirts.Įarlier this month, crews finished assembling the twin solid rocket boosters. These form the base of the solid rocket boosters. The museum installed the solid rocket booster aft skirts, the first major milestone, in July. The Endeavour is quite heavy, about 176,000 pounds, and Phillips said the assembly is unforgiving. The California Science Center calls this Mission 26: The Big Endeavour. “We're basically putting together a giant spaceship, just like NASA did, but not with any of their resources,” he said. This has never been done outside of NASA before, according to Ken Phillips, the curator of aerospace science who develops all of the museum's programs and exhibits on space exploration. The California Science Center is recreating the Endeavour’s vertical launch position, including all of the equipment that took the orbiter from the surface of the Earth into space on 25 missions. to learn more about the Endeavour's final journey home. What's next: The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will double the amount of exhibit space at the California Science Center and feature more than 100 authentic artifacts.

The backstory: Ken Phillips, the curator of aerospace science, said he’s been imagining this project for more than 33 years - even before he was with the California Science Center and while the Endeavour was still actively engaged in missions.

Why now: The California Science Center is recreating the Endeavour’s vertical launch position, including all of the equipment that took the orbiter from the surface of the Earth into space on 25 missions. Why it matters: Once construction is complete in the next few years, the Endeavour will be displayed in its “ready to launch” position in what will be the world’s only authentic space shuttle stack.

31, is your last chance to see the space shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center before it’s taken off public display indefinitely while the museum finishes building its new permanent home at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Exposition Park.

Space shuttle endeavour exhibit