Mark the date: starting Nov. 13, Angelenos will be the first in the world to see a complete space shuttle with an orbiter on exhibit at the newly opened Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
The same region that birthed Lockheed Corp., Douglas Aircraft Co. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. now houses the Orbiter Endeavour, the last operational shuttle built by NASA’s Space Shuttle program, plus rocket boosters and an external tank. Endeavor traversed space 25 times from 1992 to 2011 and orbited Earth over 4,600 times – delivering critical mission equipment to the International Space Station on its last trip. Its arrival in Los Angeles traces back to 2012, when the approximately 178,000-pound space shuttle waded through the streets from
Los Angeles International Airport to its current home over the course of three days.
Now, visitors to Expo Park’s California Science Center can see the spacecraft in all its majesty. The nearly 20-story-tall shuttle system is displayed vertically in launch position, with consoles – original monitor stations for NASA engineers to control launch operations – around the exhibit. Taking a clear elevator that closely hugs the space shuttle, visitors will be able to see the hatch door on the orbiter and take a look from above through a clear glass floor, almost 200 feet above the ground.
In addition to the space shuttle, visitors to the $450 million space center can see an Astrolab rover and three space capsules, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Two 45-foot-high slides will simulate the descent and landing experience for the spacecraft, while about 100 interactive programs offer other immersive operative experiences. Besides space-related artifacts, the center also features a Korean Air Boeing 747-400, where plane devotees can sit in the original seats for a simulated flight from L.A. to Seoul.
The 200,000 square-foot center is the latest chapter in Southern California’s extensive history with the aerospace industry – an investment in its future, said Gov. Gavin Newsom during an Oct. 28 press tour.
Besides its historic connection to prominent industry powerhouses, the region is also seeing a significant wave of budding startups in aerospace with an established talent pipeline, including Long Beach-based Rocket Lab Corp. and Vast Inc.
“Our state of mind is always about thinking about the future and tomorrow, and we say lovingly, the future happens here first,” Newsom said. “This is a physical manifestation that connects to what California values and those values that we preach.”
A museum renaissance
The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is not the only major project undertaken by L.A.’s extensive museum network this year.
Steps away from the California Science Center stands the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, freshly opened in September by entertainment moguls George Lucas and Mellody Hobson.
To its northwest is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which opened the doors to its $724 million David Geffen Galleries in May.
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