Astronauts including Sen. Mark Kelly celebrate the opening of L.A.'s new air and space museum with plenty of kids
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Set us as preferred On Friday, about 800 schoolchildren gathered for the grand opening of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center to marvel at the Endeavour spaceship and explore new exhibits featuring space capsules, Mars rovers, and spacesuits, including one from the Apollo era.They were greeted by astronauts in blue space suits, eager to recount their time in space.Among them was astronaut-turned-U.S.
senator Mark Kelly, for whom Endeavour holds sentimental significance.A veteran of four spaceflights, Kelly flew aboard the spacecraft twice.
His first mission came just months after the September 11 attacks.“We launched in December, right after this horrible tragedy.The spaceship was actually born out of a tragedy: Challenger.
This is the replacement for Challenger,” the Arizona Democrat said in an interview.His second flight aboard Endeavour was equally memorable.While Kelly was in space, his wife, then- Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords, was recovering in the hospital after surviving an assassination attempt.“She was still in the hospital when I was in space,” Kelly recalled.
He commanded Endeavour’s final mission.In his Senate office, his spacesuit is on proud display.Kelly hopes the spacecraft will inspire children for generations to come.
He describes Endeavour as “the most complicated thing humans have ever built,” hoping to spark interest in math and engineering.“A little kid is gonna say, ‘Wow! People built that, and it went into space.
Boy, if people could do that, maybe I can do anything,’ ” Kelly said.“It’s going to motivate children from all over our country to do some hard stuff.
So you can’t really put a price tag on this.”Bringing the gift of Endeavour to L.A.also served as inspiration to Lynda Oschin.
When she first saw the 200-foot-tall spacecraft standing upright in its launch posi...