NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavor Standing In Launch Position Is A Glorious Display
The last part of hoisting Endeavour into position and attaching it to the orange external tank, ET-94, began on the night of January 29, 2024. The space shuttle was then “hard mated” on January 30, at which time the flight hardware bolts were completely torqued. After nearly 14 hours of work, Endeavour was fully detached from the crane and sling.
“With the lifting and mating of Endeavour, we have successfully completed the last-ever space shuttle stack,” remarked Jeffrey Rudolph, President and CEO of the California Science Center. “This is a dream over thirty years in the making, and a feat that has never been accomplished outside of a NASA or Air Force facility.”
Endeavour’s first launch was on the STS-49 mission to repair the Intelsat IV satellite, and carried a crew of seven astronauts. It flew a total of 25 missions in space during its lifetime. The 122-foot-long spacecraft has a wingspan of 78 feet, and was only one of 6 space shuttles built, with only 5 of them being deemed space worthy. According to NASA, each shuttle had a gross liftoff weight (system stack) of 4.5 million pounds, and could travel at an estimated 17,500mph.
Part of the full stack also includes two solid rocket boosters, each comprising an aft skirt at their base, a 116-foot solid rocket motor, and a forward assembly on top. The largest component of the stack is the 154-foot external tank. The process of fitting Endeavour to the full stack began in July of last year, with forward assemblies beginning in early December.
The future home of Endeavour, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, will “serve as a launchpad for creativity and innovation to inspire future generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers". The new addition to the California Science Center will be 200,000-square-foot, and will nearly double the center’s current educational exhibition space.
