1/31/2024 0 Comments Space shuttle endeavour exhibitWhen the mayor addressed the children present, asking who wanted to be an astronaut, most of the adults in the room joined the kids to raise their hands with great enthusiasm. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also took the podium to comment on what Endeavour means to Los Angeles and the future of science and technology education. "Why? Because human beings are about exploration, are about experimentation," he said. He challenged the "many naysayers who ask why did we spend billions on the shuttle and $2.5 billion on Curiosity?" (Image credit: Rod Pyle/)Īmong the featured speakers were California Governor Jerry Brown, who pointed out that Endeavour had been built just a few miles away at (then) Rockwell International, and had been a boon to the California economy. "It gives me hope that one day regular folks like us can go into space and come back transformed," he said.Ī California Science Center guide discusses the Space Shuttle Main Engine display with invited guests. Ingram later commented that he was very proud to be associated with this grand opening, and how glad he was to have such an icon of the space age in Los Angeles. This will make Endeavour the only retired shuttle to be displayed in "launch mode."Įndeavour's sibling shuttle orbiters, Discovery and Atlantis, will spend their retirement at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum outside Washington, D.C., and the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center in Florida, respectively, while the prototype shuttle Enterprise is on display at New York City's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.Įndeavour's opening ceremony began Wednesday with Bill Nye, former TV host and current CEO of The Planetary Society, introducing featured speakers.Īfter opening remarks, the Grammy Award-winning singer James Ingram delivered a stirring rendition of "I Believe I Can Fly." The assembled crowd joined in for the final refrains. A new, much larger building will be completed nearby within a few years, and will feature the shuttle in vertical configuration, complete with solid rocket boosters and an external tank mock-up. The orbiter is being temporarily housed in a metal hangar building connected to the main California Science Center museum. Crowds beneath the tiled underbelly of Endeavour during a pre-opening press tour.
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