Endeavour exhibit goes public


An exhibit featuring the retired space shuttle Endeavour will be available for public viewing Tuesday at the California Science Center in Exposition Park, adjacent to the University Park Campus.

On display · Endeavour rests in a temporary hangar before being moved into the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion for its debut at the museum on Tuesday. – Razan Al Marzouqi | Daily Trojan

Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to speak at the opening at 10 a.m. Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph said he hopes the exhibit will help boost interest in the shuttle.

“Obviously people were excited just to see it fly over or even [get] a closer look when they could see it going down the streets, but here they get a lot more of a chance to see it,” Science Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph said to the Los Angeles Times. “People can learn a lot more about it.”

Endeavour, the fifth and final NASA shuttle to be engineered, first flew in May 1992; its last mission, a trip to the international space station, was in May 2011.

Rudolph anticipates the new shuttle exhibition to raise attendance to 2 million people per year from 1.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

All the money for the construction of the Air and Space Center, Endeavour’s future home, has come from donations and fundraising; the center expects no state general funding support.

The shuttle is currently being held in the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion while its permanent home is being built. In the pavilion, the museum is also displaying SPACEHAB, a capsule that provided astronauts with additional space, along with a main engine, built by Rocketdyne in Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley.

Before visiting the shuttle display, museum guests will visit the accompanying exhibit “Endeavour: The California Story.” This exhibit will feature a shuttle galley, lavatory and tires.

The museum has launched a $200 million campaign to fund temporary and permanent displays, 80 percent of which is for the permanent air and space wing, Rudolph told the Times.

The display requires a non-refundable ticket, which are available in person on a first-come, first-served basis and online, for a specific time to view the shuttle.