The move will be tricky: At one point, Endeavour will need to be jacked up - to avoid striking a building - moved and then jacked back down for the rest of the journey.Īn architectural drawing showing the design of the future California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which will house the space shuttle Endeavour, just next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Then, the orbiter will move down State Drive. It’ll first be rolled onto the lawn just north of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and south of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Later this month, Endeavour will begin to be moved out of the hangar, on the western edge of the science center, Rudolph said. The hangar is being dismantled to make way for Endeavour's move. During launches, the external tank carried propellants - liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen - that powered the space shuttle's three main engines to help bring the shuttle into orbit.Īfter the external tank is put into position, work will begin to move Endeavour out of its existing exhibit space, the temporary hangar known as the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Pavilion, where the orbiter had been on display for about 11 years, until it closed on New Year's Eve. The 15-story orange external tank, the last of its kind in existence, arrived in Los Angeles in 2016, on a journey by sea through the Panama Canal and into Marina del Rey, before also lumbering through the streets to the Science Center. ![]() Read more: A successful liftoff: Space shuttle Endeavour's rockets are installed At liftoff, the white rocket boosters were set underneath the shuttle's wings and produced more than 80% of the lift. The external tank will then be attached to components that were installed in recent months - the twin solid rocket boosters, which began to be installed in a months-long process that started over the summer. The other crane will then lift the tank into its final position. Then, the external tank will be slowly turned upright to a vertical orientation, and one of the cranes will be disconnected. Two cranes will be used initially to lift up the external tank from its horizontal position. The orange external tank will be attached to the twin solid rocket boosters, already installed, at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site at the California Science Center. Assuming that holds into early January, we'll try taking advantage of that six-hour window to lift the tank and get it in to the pit," said Dennis Jenkins, project director for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. "The trend, at least in December, was for the winds to die down about 10 p.m. Because the move is taking place outdoors, any significant winds could lead to delays in the big move, and the museum doesn't want a very big thing swinging off a crane in significant winds. 11 and into the next morning, the external tank is to be lifted, starting sometime after 10 p.m. The journey will take about two hours, past the science center and the Exposition Park Rose Garden. 10, when the it will be moved by self-propelled modular transporters - similar to the ones used to move Endeavour through city streets in 2012 - down State Drive to the new museum wing's construction site. ![]() The prelude to the external tank's big lift is scheduled for Jan. "Show time!" said Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center. ![]() The cranes that will lift the spacecraft are quite tall - the tallest of which will be about the height of City Hall. The operation will be a sight to see, and the key moments of the lift of the external tank and Endeavour will be streamed online by the California Science Center. Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center, at the groundbreaking of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in 2022.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |