What to Know
- The Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the California Science Center in October 2012, following a celebrated roll through Los Angeles after touching down at LAX (courtesy of a jumbo jet)
- You can view Endeavour through Dec. 31, 2023; soon after, it will begin its complex journey to its new nearby home and remain off-view for many years
- The shuttle will be moved to the museum's in-the-works Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where it will be displayed vertically alongside other sizable shuttle components, including an external tank and solid rocket boosters
Space Shuttle Endeavour has truly put in some impressive miles, both in space and around Los Angeles. The City of Angels is where the spacecraft slowly and spectacularly made its way, courtesy of a massive carrier, from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center in the fall of 2012.
That sensational trek made worldwide headlines as it thrillingly inched across the city, and in the decade-plus-a-year since, throngs of shuttle-loving fans have made their way to the Exposition Park museum to admire the cosmic icon.
But Endeavour, which was NASA's fifth space shuttle, was never going to stay put in its first California Science Center home; there were even bigger visions for the colossal craft, specifically a goal to stand it upright alongside other shuttle components.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Such a dream would require a capacious new building, and that structure, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, is now under construction.
But "capacious" hardly tells the whole story of this state-of-the-art pavilion: An "awe-inspiring 20-story vertical display," one that gives visitors a sense of launch-style excitement, is in Endeavour's future.
What, though, of the present, and those Endeavour enthusiasts who'd love to see the spacecraft, one last time, in its horizontal position?
That's a possibility, but the countdown is on: The last day to view the space shuttle, "for several years," is Sunday, Dec. 31.
A ticket is not required to view Endeavour but keep in mind that plenty of people will be visiting the shuttle over the coming days, so plan accordingly.
To dive into "Go for Stack," the multi-year effort to display Endeavour vertically alongside shuttle components, making it "the world's only authentic space shuttle system," visit this page now.
