by Just a day after it was removed from display and as its external tank is scheduled to briefly return to flight, NASA’s retired space shuttle Endeavor is going under cover.
As the new year rolls around, the California Science Center in Los Angeles hopes to bring its unprecedented “Go for Stack” campaign to a close, ultimately taking Endeavor vertical to the world’s only demonstration of a shuttle creating a completely authentic 20-story space as. last seen on the launch pad. Endeavour, with its twin solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank, is set to be the main attraction of the science centre’s new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Centre, due to open in the coming years.
“On Tuesday [Jan. 2]we are beginning work to remove the west wall of the pavilion where Endeavor has been on display for the past 11 years,” said Jeffrey Rudolph, president and chief executive officer of the California Science Center, in an interview with collectSPACE.com. “The wall come out to move Endeavor out. It’s the same way we moved her into the pavilion back in 2012.”
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Although the wall was designed to be removed, work must first be done to disconnect display items and disconnect electrical connections. External Tank-94 (ET-94), NASA’s last remaining space shuttle fuel tank built for flight, must also be moved from its temporary storage location on the south lawn of Exposition Park to make room for Endeavour. to roll out.
“We are also starting to prepare ET-94 for its move, which involves taking down the fencing and scaffolding that currently surrounds it,” said Rudolph.
The science center announced Tuesday that it is targeting January 10 to begin moving the tank. The largest component of the space shuttle stack, the 154-foot-long (47-meter) orange tank will be loaded onto a self-propelled modular carrier for its relatively short trip from near the California Science Center to the new air work site. and space center.
The 65,000-pound (29,500 kilogram) tank will then be lifted by crane above the partially constructed museum walls and then lowered between the exhibit’s two solid rocket boosters, which were also installed in December. Unlike the boosters, however, the tank lift will be done overnight, with the first bid slated for sometime after 10 pm PST on January 11 (12 a.m. EST or 0500 GMT January 12), pending acceptable weather conditions and other safety concerns.
“As soon as we go vertical, it is the point of no return. We have to finish it at that point,” Dennis Jenkins, the project manager for the display of the space shuttle Endeavor of the California Science Center, said collectSPACE. “We will monitor the weather carefully. We will not take off until we are ready. And when we take off, we are there for the duration.”
Assuming all goes as planned, Endeavor’s transfer and liftoff will follow a similar schedule of multi-day transport and overnight lifts in the coming weeks.
First, however, the wing orbit must be shrunk back.
“We decided at the last minute – literally, at the last minute – to reduce the Endeavor Wrap,” said Jenkins. “We’re worried about her getting dirty. Our experience with the solid rocket boosters is that they were dirty after a few days, which is to be expected on a construction site.”
“We decided that Endeavor wouldn’t appreciate that,” he said.
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Unlike the metal walls of the booster, which can be easily washed, cleaning the orbiter’s heat shield tiles and thermal blankets is a more complicated ordeal. For the same reason, NASA covered the Atlantis space shuttle in plastic after it was moved into its display building at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
“Unfortunately, it will affect the stack visions because you won’t see the orbit as many people hope, but it will be much better for the vehicle. Endeavor will be a white blob as it takes off,” said Jenkins.
The shrink wrap, which will be added to Endeavor before it rolls out of its former display pavilion, will remain on the vehicle until construction of the Oschin Air and Space Center is complete and work must be done to configure the space shuttle for it. public debut.
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