California Science Center Breaks Ground on Future Home of Space Shuttle Endeavour
The California Science Center in Los Angeles celebrated a milestone Wednesday morning with the groundbreaking for its future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which when completed will be a 200,000-square-foot addition to the Science Center that will house space shuttle Endeavour, one of only three remaining space shuttle orbiters that were flown.
When the expected three-year project is completed, Endeavour will be exhibited in a shuttle gallery, in vertical launch configuration with solid rocket boosters and an external tank — which is no small feat as the space shuttle is five stories tall, has a wingspan of 78 feet and weighs 170,000 pounds.
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With an architectural design by ZGF, the center will house a total of 150 exhibits, including Endeavour. To fund the project, the California Science Center Foundation, along with the state of California, has now raised $280 million toward its $400 million Endeavour LA campaign goal.
Courtesy of ZGF
“The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will be a launch pad for creativity and innovation to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers,” said California Science Center CEO Jeffrey Rudolph.
During the ceremony, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla discussed California’s contributions to science and space, noting that California was where Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier. He said he hoped the exhibit would encourage and educate today’s diverse next generation so that they are “not just included, but leading, that legacy.”
Speakers included L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, congresswoman Maxine Waters, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Lynda Oschin. Former NASA astronauts Gregory Chamitoff, Barbara Morgan and Garrett Reisman participated in the ceremony. Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, also a former NASA astronaut who served as commander on Endeavour’s last mission, joined remotely with recorded messages.
The California Science Center is located in Exposition Park, whose planned future residents also include George Lucas’ Lucas Museum for Narrative Art.
Plans call for the Space Center’s shuttle gallery to include filmed footage from Endeavour’s historic move to California and other milestones in prepping the exhibit, which were documented over the years by volunteers from Hollywood’s production community, according to California Science Center trustee David Knight, who oversaw the production for the Science Center.
Eleven years ago, Endeavour’s move to California brought together more than 150 Hollywood professionals, including members of the Society of Camera Operators such as late two-time Oscar winner Haskell Wexler and late SOC past president and camera operator Dan Kneece, who volunteered their time and gear to document the transport of the orbiter. The journey started at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with Endeavour mounted atop a Boeing 747. That flight landed at LAX and then began a multiday crawl through the L.A. streets to the California Science Center in Exposition Park. Millions of Californians watched this historic move, and since arriving at the Science Center, more than 18 million have visited the national treasure in its temporary exhibit.
Volunteers from Hollywood were later involved in filming related events such as the fuel tank’s transport in 2016 and a virtual reality shoot. Such contributions continued Wednesday, with camera operator Mark Moser and videographer Kiet Tran on hand to film the groundbreaking ceremony and Space Shuttle with Red’s latest Komondo 6K camera, as well as Red’s Raven and Raptor cameras. Postproduction vet and still photographer Chuck Null of Visual Data also continued his photographic documentation of the Shuttle’s journey.
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