space shuttle endeavour during california science fair

They are the final elements of space shuttle Endeavour's stack to arrive at the California Science Center. The SRMs have been in storage at the Mojave Air and Space Port, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, since September 2020. The most recent use was for STS-123, the 21st launch of Endeavour, in 2008. The oldest cases, located at the top of each assembled solid rocket motor, helped launch STS-5, the fifth flight of the program and the orbiter Columbia, in 1982. (Image credit: California Science Center)ĭonated by Northrop Grumman, the two SRMs include hardware that was part of 81 space shuttle missions. After burnout, the two boosters were jettisoned and descended under parachutes to an ocean splashdown to be recovered, refurbished and reused.Īrtist rendering of the space shuttle Endeavour inside the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

During the 30-year space shuttle program, twin 15-story-tall, reusable SRBs would fire in tandem with the shuttle's three main engines to produce more than six million pounds of thrust, the majority of what was needed to lift off the launch pad. The SRMs comprise the largest part of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs). 'The arrival of the SRMs will propel us one step closer to the completion of the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which will serve as a launchpad for creativity and innovation and will inspire future generations of scientists, engineers and explorers.'

'Eleven years after Endeavour's memorable crosstown journey, we're delighted to invite the public to join us once again to be a part of this next historic arrival,' said Jeffrey Rudolph, president and chief executive officer of the California Science Center, in a statement. The public is invited to watch as the pair of 116-foot-long (35 meters) motors are carried by truck to Exposition Park. 11), 11 years to the day after the NASA winged orbiter began the ground-based leg of its journey to go on display, two flight-worthy solid rocket motors (SRMs) will arrive at the science center to stand with Endeavour in a vertical, ready for launch configuration. Hurley is now senior director of Northrop Grumman Space Systems, based in Utah, where he works on solid rocket boosters.The California Science Center is celebrating the anniversary of space shuttle Endeavour's iconic Los Angeles road trip with the delivery of two very large candles. He later served as spacecraft commander on the first crewed flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2020 and stayed aboard the International Space Station for 62 days. He piloted the final space shuttle mission in 2011, aboard Atlantis, as well as a flight of Endeavour in 2009. Some special guests were also on hand, including former astronaut Douglas G. There, schoolchildren and adults alike gathered to cheer on the spectacle. Wednesday, and before their arrival around 9 a.m., the motors crept along Figueroa Street in South L.A. The solid rocket motors left Mojave on Tuesday morning and spent three hours traveling through the desert and the Cajon Pass before resting for about 15 hours in the San Gabriel Valley. After more than a decade in a horizontal position inside the museum, it will be configured into a full-stack arrangement as if it were being prepared for launch at the new $400-million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.Ĭalifornia Space shuttle Endeavour makes one more voyage to its final destination at a new space centerĪfter being on display at the California Science Center for more than a decade, the Endeavor began it’s final move to a new center as it’s permanent home. The equipment will be a key component to the permanent exhibition of Endeavour, the last space shuttle built. The motors take up most of the length of the white solid rocket boosters, which are set beneath the space shuttle’s wings and produced more than 80% of lift during takeoff.

The solid rocket motors - each weighing 104,000 pounds and the size of a Boeing 757 fuselage - came aboard two semi-trucks from the Mojave Air and Space Port, taking nine hours over two days and traversing seven Southern California freeways to arrive at the California Science Center in South L.A. With a festive celebration worthy of the stars, Los Angeles welcomed the arrival of massive twin rockets Wednesday, the final pieces of large equipment before the space shuttle begins to be fully assembled in a grand museum exhibit next year.

Space shuttle endeavour during california science fair