California Science Center completes construction of new building housing Endeavour shuttle

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The California Science Center announced Monday that construction has been completed on its new Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center, bringing the highly anticipated expansion one step closer to its public debut.The culmination of a master project plan adopted in 1993, the sleek 20-story, 200,000-square-foot new building rising over Exposition Park will nearly double the museum’s exhibit space and anchor a $450-million campaign to permanently house the retired space shuttle Endeavour.

“I keep saying this, and it sounds cliché,” said Jeffrey Rudolph, the Science Center’s president and chief executive.“But it’s better than we ever dreamed.” California Barring high winds or other bad weather, the orbiter will be lifted by two cranes late Monday in a move that could take up to 10 hours to complete.The Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center will be split into three galleries — air, space and shuttle — containing aerospace artifacts and hands-on exhibits demonstrating scientific principles.

At the heart of the new addition is Endeavour itself, displayed in a vertical “ready-to-launch” configuration that’s never been replicated with real hardware outside of a NASA or Air Force facility.The display includes rocket boosters from manufacturer Northrop Grumman and a massive external fuel tank from NASA.

A veteran of 25 missions from 1992 to 2011, Endeavour arrived in L.A.in 2012 during a widely watched journey atop a modified Boeing 747, followed by a slow procession through city streets.

For over a decade, the retired orbiter was exhibited horizontally in a temporary, tent-like structure known as the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion.In early 2024, Angelenos watched as the shuttle was carefully lifted and placed into its final upright position in an intensive overnight operation.

California A shrink-wrapped Endeavour was hoisted and then care...