Astronauts used the boom to inspect the orbiter's wings and underbelly to ensure they were not damaged during launch or while in space. Introduced as a safety measure after the loss of space shuttle Columbia in 2003, the OBSS was a 50-foot-long (15.24-m), camera-and-laser-tipped extension to the Canadarm robotic arm. Related: NASA's space shuttle Endeavour: 6 surprising factsĪ replica of Endeavour's Orbiter Boom Inspection System (OBSS), furnished for the California Science Center by Guard-Lee, Inc., will be installed in the space shuttle's payload bay. Endeavour will appear as it did on the launchpad with one exception: one of its payload bay doors will be open, allowing guests to see the equipment inside. Once completed, the exhibit will feature the world's only indoor display of a full space shuttle stack. There, the orbiter will be mated with NASA's last remaining, built-for-flight external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters assembled from previously launched parts. Later this year, Endeavour will be transported from its pavilion to the construction site of its new home, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. ![]() STS-118 was chosen because that flight included educator-astronaut Barbara Morgan on its crew and the California Science Center is focused on education. In a much more publicized move almost a decade ago, the science center pulled open Endeavour's two 60-foot-long (18-meter) doors in an event that was called "Go for Payload." Over the course of three weeks in October 2014, engineers and curators used large cranes to load the shuttle's empty bay with a flown Spacehab logistics module and replica components modeled after how Endeavour looked on its 20th mission, STS-118, in 2007. (Image credit: California Science Center) Endeavour was operational until May 2011.An overhead view of the space shuttle Endeavour after its payload bay doors were opened on Wednesday, Feb. Its missions included service trips to the Hubble space telescope. Its final journey was given added poignancy by the fact that it entered service in 1992 as a replacement to Challenger, which was destroyed in an accident in 1986 that killed seven astronauts. The name was chosen in a national competition and was intended to embody a spirit of adventure and discovery. The shuttle was named after James Cook's ship HMS Endeavour, which he commanded on his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand in the 1700s. "It's pretty neat to see a spaceship in the street," one observer told a local television station. The spectacle, however, and the shuttle's place in history has proved popular. Power lines were taken down in preparation, with about 400 residents in the Inglewood area left without power for several hours. Toyota is filming the event for a commercial.Ĭrews then spent several hours transferring the shuttle to a special, lighter towing trolley. Thousands of LA residents took to the streets to see the Nasa spacecraft, which once reached speeds of 17,000mph, creep past at a rather more sedate 2mph.Įndeavour crossed a bridge over Interstate 405, one of the trickiest parts of its 12-mile journey, and made its way down Manchester Boulevard pulled by a Toyota Tundra pickup. ![]() Its final journey, which began on Friday, will see it travel from the city's international airport to the California Science Centre, where it will go on permanent display.
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