Today the California Science Center reached another major milestone toward its future display of space shuttle Endeavour in ready-to-launch configuration with the successful lift of the space shuttle orbiter itself. This marks the first time this process has been accomplished outside of a NASA or Air Force facility. Beginning Monday, January 29 around 9:30 p.m., and lasting just under nine and a half hours, Endeavour’s “soft mate” is now complete. Work will continue tonight to finish the final “hard mate.” A hard mate occurs when the flight hardware bolts and nuts are completely torqued, firmly securing the orbiter in place. Following the hard mate, the sling will be removed, and at that point the process will be complete.
Endeavour’s installation in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a major expansion of the California Science Center, is the grand finale of the unprecedented Go for Stack process to create the world’s only authentic space shuttle system display.
The 122-foot-long orbiter weighs 178,000 lbs. and has a wingspan of 78 feet. Space shuttle Endeavour flew 25 missions in space.
The California Science Center is fortunate to have a remarkable team of experts with decades of experience working with NASA and the shuttle program – some from the very first space shuttle launch in 1981. This is the final time they’ll work together to lift and mate a space shuttle and is the last-ever planned space shuttle stack.
Image credit: California Science Center
