Space Shuttle Endeavour Unveiled in Vertical Launch Display

The California Science Center (CSC) in Los Angeles has unveiled the space shuttle Endeavour in a dramatic vertical launch configuration, a display that recreates its appearance at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. This exhibit, named the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, marks the culmination of a six-month assembly process known as "Go for Stack," which involved raising Endeavour to a height of 185 feet (56 meters) and mating it with the last flight-qualified external fuel tank, ET-94.

Endeavour, the final space shuttle orbiter constructed, was initially built as a replacement for the Challenger. It embarked on its inaugural mission in May 1992 and completed 25 missions over nearly 299 days, traveling over 122.8 million miles and orbiting Earth 4,671 times. Its operational history includes significant achievements such as the first servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, the delivery of the initial American component of the International Space Station (ISS), and the first in-orbit repair of a cracked shuttle windshield. The orbiter's final mission, STS-134, launched in May 2011, successfully delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS.

Following its last landing at Kennedy Space Center on June 1, 2011, Endeavour was retired from flight. The CSC's new exhibit positions the shuttle vertically, attached to real solid rocket boosters and the external fuel tank, offering an unprecedented view of the shuttle system as it would appear prior to launch. Jeff Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, has described the exhibit as the "most spectacular museum exhibit in the solar system."