posted 12-08-2012 11:40 AM               

I was there opening day, and after dealing with the tickets, lines and trading different colored poker chips, I got to the door, handed the lady my chip and looked up... and let out the loudest gasp I've ever had! The "door lady" chuckled and said. "And there it is."

As I walked underneath Endeavour, I was fighting back tears, and just about felt like jumping up and down and shouting, "I WANT MY SPACE PROGRAM BACK, DAMMIT!" But it ended up being such a great day, because I found myself answering questions for all the fascinated-yet-bewildered folks who'd come up to me on account of my t-shirt with the big honkin' NASA logo on it.

Since then I've been boning up on my shuttle lore by actually reading the Jenkins book, which I've had for about a decade, but only ever looked at the diagrams of all the wacky concepts that were considered.

Also, I just got my copy of "Wings In Orbit" that I've had my eye on all year. (Kinda beat-up, but it was the last copy B&N had, so they knocked 10 bucks off it!)

posted 12-10-2012 03:27 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by cljohnston108:
...and let out the loudest gasp I've ever had! The "door lady" chuckled and said. "And there it is."

---

posted 03-11-2013 08:42 AM               

Space shuttle Endeavour's museum move focus of new photo exhibit

Space shuttle Endeavour's final journey to become a museum display last year is now the focus of a new photography exhibit at its Los Angeles home.

The California Science Center opens "Mission 26: The Big Endeavour" on Monday (March 11), an exhibition adding a new experience for guests visiting the retired NASA space shuttle. The more than 80 images in the gallery serve to highlight the scenes that were witnessed by spectators as Endeavour was flown over the Golden State and during its 12-mile, 68-hour journey through city streets.

The new exhibit, which is sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, includes many of the images that the newspaper's photographers took during the unprecedented delivery. A time lapse video, together with contributions from students in the area, complete the gallery, which invites guests to recall what it was like to be part of the historic event.

posted 05-31-2013 12:08 PM               

Space shuttle Endeavour's Toyota tow truck gives California Science Center a lift

The pickup truck that last year helped to tow a retired space shuttle to its museum display is now part of an interactive exhibit designed to demonstrate how to pick up large things.

The California Science Center in Los Angeles, which now displays the space shuttle Endeavour, debuted its newly-upgraded "Giant Lever" exhibit Friday morning (May 31), featuring the silver Toyota Tundra pickup truck that helped deliver the massive orbiter to the museum last October...

...Friday's unveiling wasn't the only "pickup" however, for the science center: Toyota Motor Sales, USA also presented the museum with a check for $401,300, the amount raised during a "tweet drive" leading up to the Tundra's towing of Endeavour.

posted 06-24-2013 06:31 PM               

Toyota never said (at least to my knowledge) that it was towing Endeavour any great distance; the commercials focused on the weight of the tow, not the length.

posted 07-23-2013 08:49 AM            

Last time we saw her was the STS-134 abort. And as I quipped to my wife, Endeavour was moving about as fast as she was the last time we saw her.

Can't say I was particularly a fan of the gyrations you have to go through to actually get to the shuttle. Though I do understand that the labyrinth of rope lines, "pre-show" displays, travel through other exhibits, and the location of the gift shop in the display hall is a temporary arrangement as they raise funds for the permanent display.

Kudos to CSC for putting the entrance to the building on the right end of the spacecraft. With these big space displays, I appreciate a little showmanship: I always enjoy watching first-timers get a view of the business end of the Saturn V's at USSRC and KSC. With the shuttle, the cockpit/nameplate is the iconic view. Even in the temporary display, the first view you get of Endeavour is an almost religious experience. As a kid of the 80's/90's, I'm an unabashed shuttle hugger, and the wave of nostalgia brought a tear to my eye.

My wife and I have been taking a series of photos every 2 weeks during our pregnancy, and we took week 22's photo in front of the shuttle. Can't wait to bring our daughter back in a few years.

posted 07-23-2013 10:01 AM               

If I had a complaint it would only be finding it was rather difficult, even with directions.

posted 08-07-2013 01:05 PM               

NASA Dryden Pilots, Photographers and Videographer from Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover to Share their Experience with Science Camp Students at the California Science Center

As the California Science Center prepares to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's historic flyover and transport from LAX to Exposition Park, NASA Dryden pilots who flew the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) and F-18 chase aircraft, along with the photographers and videographer will share their stories and images with students from Hands-On Science Camp on Friday, Aug. 9, 2013 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. PDT.

The NASA Dryden team will also be available to sign autographs for the general public near the Mission 26: The Big Endeavour Photo Exhibit on Saturday, August 10, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• William F. Brockett – Shuttle Aircraft Carrier (SCA) pilot
  
• David Nils Larson – F-18 pilot
  
• Troy A. Asher – F-18 pilot
  
• Lori Losey – Videographer responsible for flyover video taken of Southern California
  
• Carla Thomas – Photographer responsible for images taken of Golden Gate Bridge and other Northern California images
  
• Jim Ross – Photographer responsible for Southern California flyover images

posted 09-06-2013 01:18 AM               

Endeavour Fest

October 11-13, 2013

The California Science Center is commemorating the one-year anniversary of Endeavour's arrival at its Samuel Oschin Pavilion with a celebration to thank everyone who joined in supporting the shuttle's historic journey. The two-day event includes an Endeavour Fest on Oct. 12 and 13, with fun space exhibits, and the opening of a Red Bull Stratos Exhibit featuring the 3,000 pound capsule used by Felix Baumgartner when he jumped from the stratosphere and became the first human to break the sound barrier during free fall.

Come learn about the science and engineering of Endeavour, on display in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion, as well as upcoming space exploration programs for humans, robots and satellites. You'll also discover the latest news about our future plans for Endeavour's new permanent home in the Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

posted 09-24-2013 02:10 PM               

Anyone been there lately? This will be my first visit to the Center so wondering what I can expect. My wife and 14 year old daughter (neither great science buffs) will be with me. I hope there will be something there to interest them. Thanks in advance for any sage advice.

posted 10-11-2013 07:02 AM               

'Endeavour Fest' celebrates space shuttle exhibit at California Science Center

One year and nearly 3 million visitors later, NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour is the focus of a celebration at its Los Angeles museum home.

The California Science Center is commemorating the first anniversary of Endeavour's delivery to its Samuel Oschin Pavilion with a celebration to thank everyone who joined in supporting the shuttle's historic journey. "Endeavour Fest" begins on Friday (Oct. 11) and runs through Sunday with special exhibits and astronaut guest speakers scheduled.

"It is kind of a fusion of the flyover and landing, and then the move of the orbiter and the opening," Kenneth Phillips, the science center's curator of aerospace, said Thursday in an interview with collectSPACE.com. "Those took place about a month apart, so this is a celebration of all of that."

posted 10-11-2013 07:04 AM               

"We're preparing, a year from now, to put the Spacehab in the payload bay," Phillips told collectSPACE. "We have to figure out how we're going to move the attach hardware in the payload bay to where it needs to be. We have had the crew hatch open [today] and have gone from there through the middeck into the payload bay to get an idea as to what we need."

"The next eight months or so will be spent pulling together the ground support equipment and everything we need to execute the opening of the payload bay doors," he added.

posted 10-11-2013 03:28 PM               

To commemorate the first anniversary of Endeavour's arrival at its Samuel Oschin Pavilion, I reenacted the historic journey with a radio controlled space shuttle.

posted 10-11-2013 05:40 PM               

One of the units will be placed into Endeavour's payload bay; the other will be exhibited alongside the shuttle (likely on the gantry tower that will allow guests to ascend the height of the vehicle).

When Endeavour is exhibited vertically, its port (or left) side payload bay door will be open to enable guests to look inside.

posted 03-17-2014 01:52 PM               

Jenkins spent 30-plus years — his entire career — sending the shuttles into space. Now, with the program part of a bygone era of exploration, the 57-year-old works for the California Science Center, helping officials figure out how to display their own orbiter, Endeavour.

The Exposition Park museum wants to showcase its crown jewel as if it's on the launch pad, a display that will take thousands of pieces to pull off — parts that are scattered at NASA facilities, museums and other places across the U.S. Most are one of a kind and impossible to replicate.

So for the past year, Jenkins has crisscrossed the country, scouring NASA scrap yards and asking old colleagues if they have what he needs to rebuild the shuttle launch stack, piece by piece.

posted 08-21-2014 08:39 AM               

Here's a video interview with curator Ken Phillips describing the model.

posted 09-25-2014 08:29 PM               

'Go for Payload' update

The exterior of the north wall has been removed in preparation for Go for Payload.

What is "Go for Payload"?

There are three more stages leading up to Endeavour's lift into the vertical launch position in 2018; Go for Payload, Go for Stack and Go for Launch. During the next stage, called Go for Payload, the Science Center will install Endeavour's final payload. This delicate operation will take place now through Oct. 25, 2014.

posted 09-29-2014 03:37 PM            

As it was, I lucked out and had no problem. They had the side hatch open for access to the payload bay through the aft airlock door. Here are a few photos.

posted 09-29-2014 04:34 PM            

During the next stage, called Go for Payload, the Science Center will install Endeavour's final payload.

posted 09-30-2014 09:35 AM               

On edit: I see the California Science Center has now made the payload public:

During the next stage, called Go for Payload, the Science Center will install Endeavour's final payload, a configuration similar to the STS-118 mission, consisting of a flown SPACEHAB and other equipment.

posted 10-09-2014 01:23 PM               

Go for Payload! Spacehab installed inside space shuttle Endeavour for display

A large piece of space equipment was installed in a space shuttle's cargo bay on Thursday (Oct. 9) for what was very likely the last time in history.

In an event titled "Go for Payload," the California Science Center (CSC) in Los Angeles hoisted a Spacehab module into the open hold of the retired space shuttle Endeavour. The logistics module's addition, together with several other real and replica parts, marked a major milestone towards the center's plans to display the NASA winged orbiter in a vertical, launch-ready configuration.

posted 10-09-2014 01:34 PM               

• Flown Spacehab (Flight Unit 3). [FU3 flew on STS-79, STS-81, STS-84, STS-86, STS-89, STS-96, STS-101, and STS-106, although always as part of a Double Module, never as a Single Module, which is how the Science Center will show it]

• Replica External Airlock and Orbiter Docking System

• Replica Tunnel Adapter (what connects the airlock to the Spacehab to allow the crew to move between them)

• Replica Shuttle Remote Manipulator System arm (Canadarm) including end effector and elbow camera

• Replica payload bay cameras (A, B, C, and D - all four corners of the payload bay)

• More than 7,000 feet of wiring, allowing the Science Center to light the interior of the payload bay, flight deck, and middeck.

posted 10-09-2014 06:49 PM               

Fact Sheet: Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center represents the feature component of Phase III of the California Science Center's 25-year Master Plan. It will encourage guests of all ages to understand key scientific and engineering principles related to atmospheric flight and the exploration of the universe. Projected to open in 2018, this major addition will integrate authentic artifacts, including an outstanding collection of aircraft and spacecraft, immersive experiences and hands-on educational exhibits that promote active learning through discovery.

Exhibit Components:

• "Air Gallery" will examine the four principles of flight – lift, thrust, drag and weight – and the tradeoffs that affect aircraft

• "Space Gallery" will explore the universe through the use of powerful telescopes and robots that go places and collect data. "Humans in Space" will show the challenges of surviving outside Earth's atmosphere, working in space, traveling to the moon, life aboard the International Space Station, and the future of human space exploration

• "Space Shuttle Gallery" will illustrate how the need to live and work in space required a fleet of reliable transport vehicles that merged the science of airplanes and spaceships into one complex design

• Guests will find approximately 175 hands-on exhibits, 100 artifacts including aircraft and spacecraft, and 10 immersive simulations

Special Features:

• The Concourse, a dynamic central space equipped with a stage and flexible seating for Science Live! programming that includes ongoing demonstrations, experiments, shows led by Science Center educators, and a gathering place for breaking news in aeronautics and space exploration

• Discovery Room designed for young visitors, Pre-K to 2nd grade, will present science concepts with age appropriate activities, books and toys to be explored with their families or caregivers

• Learning Laboratory that will be used for field trip programs on design, engineering and aerospace topics, to introduce investigative science skills to visiting school and youth groups through laboratory activities and fun-filled experiments

• New Special Exhibit and Event Center that will host temporary and traveling exhibitions on a variety of topics