The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a $450 million expansion of the California Science Center in Los Angeles, is set to open its doors on November 13. The new facility will house the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour, displayed in its upright "ready to launch" position.
The 200,000-square-foot expansion is designed to offer visitors exceptionally close views of the spacecraft. The center is divided into three galleries—air, space, and shuttle—spanning four floors. Visitors will be able to see authentic aerospace artifacts and view the Endeavour from multiple angles.
Designers emphasized the accessibility of the Endeavour, noting that visitors may be able to touch parts of the shuttle, a feature intended to bring guests closer to cosmic history than in typical museum settings. The exhibit will replicate the shuttle on the launch pad, complete with its rocket boosters and the ET-94 external fuel tank, positioned as it would be before liftoff.
Endeavour, known as the "baby shuttle," replaced the Challenger, which was lost during liftoff in 1986. Between 1992 and 2011, Endeavour completed 25 missions, spending 299 days in space, orbiting Earth 4,671 times, and traveling over 122 million miles. The shuttle arrived in Los Angeles in September 2012, transported via a NASA 747 jumbo jet to LAX and then moved on a specialized trailer through city streets to its current location in Exposition Park.
In addition to the shuttle, the new center will feature approximately 100 aerospace artifacts and 100 interactive exhibits. The design aims to make the Endeavour the centerpiece, representing the culmination of various efforts in aerospace achievement.