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Endeavour opens upright at California Science Center

Endeavour opens upright at California Science Center

Built World Los Angeles, CA local

Space shuttle's full-stack display welcomes visitors after a 33-year museum plan

Today: Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Space Shuttle Endeavour opened to the public on Nov. 13, 2026, standing upright inside a 20-story gallery at the California Science Center. It is the only display of a full shuttle stack with an orbiter, solid rocket boosters and an external tank.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center adds 200,000 square feet to the museum, roughly doubling its exhibit space. General admission is free, but visitors are encouraged to reserve tickets. The opening closes the final phase of a 33-year, $750 million master plan.

Why it matters

The free exhibit gives Los Angeles a permanent monument to the shuttle program and a new global tourism draw.

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Key Indicators

200,000 sq ft
New exhibit space
The Oschin center roughly doubles the museum's exhibit space.
20 stories
Height of shuttle gallery
Endeavour stands in a vertical launch configuration inside the gallery.
25
Endeavour missions
The orbiter flew from 1992 to 2011.
$750 million
Master plan cost
The opening closes the final phase of a three-decade museum plan.
100+
Artifacts on display
The center also has more than 100 hands-on exhibits.
Free
General admission
Reservations for the Oschin center are encouraged.

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People Involved

JR
Jeffrey Rudolph
President and chief executive, California Science Center
Leads the museum as the Oschin center opens
 Dennis Jenkins
Dennis Jenkins
Aerospace engineer and project director, Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center
Led the shuttle-stack assembly team

Organizations Involved

California Science Center
California Science Center
Science museum
Opened the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center

The Exposition Park museum has displayed Endeavour horizontally since 2012 while building its permanent home.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Federal space agency
Operated Endeavour and awarded it to the California Science Center in 2011

NASA flew Endeavour on 25 missions from 1992 to 2011.
SO
Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center
Museum expansion
Opened Nov. 13, 2026

The 200,000-square-foot expansion houses Endeavour in a vertical full-stack display.

Timeline

2011 November 2026

7 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens

    Today Opening

    Endeavour goes on public view in its permanent vertical launch configuration.

  2. Advance reservations open

    Public access

    The museum begins taking advance reservations for the Oschin center.

  3. Oschin building completed

    Construction

    The 20-story gallery around the shuttle stack is finished.

  4. External tank and orbiter lifted into stack

    Construction

    The tank is attached to the boosters and Endeavour is lifted into place.

  5. Go for Stack assembly begins

    Construction

    Crews begin moving booster segments and other shuttle parts into vertical position.

  6. Endeavour arrives in Los Angeles

    Arrival

    The shuttle lands at LAX and travels through city streets to Exposition Park.

  7. NASA awards Endeavour to Los Angeles museum

    Award

    NASA selects the California Science Center as the orbiter's permanent home.

Scenarios

1

Reservations remain in place through first year

Likely Resolves by Nov 13, 2027

Discussed by: California Science Center visitor guidance

The museum is encouraging reservations for the Oschin center. If demand stays high, the reservation system remains the main way to manage crowds.

2

Oschin center draws more than one million visitors in first year

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Museum officials and Los Angeles tourism watchers

Jeffrey Rudolph said he expects visitors from around the world. A million first-year visitors would make the exhibit a top-tier Los Angeles attraction.

3

Shuttle gallery avoids extended closure in first year

Likely Resolves by Nov 13, 2027

Discussed by: California Science Center public notices

The stack sits on seismic isolators and has no public track record as an operating gallery. A closure longer than a week would signal an engineering or operations problem.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2011

Space Shuttle retirement (2011)

NASA ended the space shuttle program after 135 missions. The agency awarded the retired orbiters to museums around the country.

Then

Endeavour went to the California Science Center, Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery to the Smithsonian and Enterprise to the Intrepid.

Now

Endeavour's full-stack vertical display is the only one of its kind among the retired orbiters.

Why this matters now

The retirement decision is why Endeavour is in Los Angeles and why the museum spent years planning a permanent home.

October 2012

Endeavour's overland journey (2012)

Endeavour arrived at LAX on a modified Boeing 747 and then moved through Los Angeles streets to Exposition Park.

Then

The shuttle went on horizontal display in a temporary pavilion.

Now

The journey created broad public attention that helped sustain the campaign for a permanent exhibit.

Why this matters now

The 2026 opening is the payoff of a public spectacle that began when the orbiter rolled through the city.

July 2023-January 2024

Go for Stack (2023-2024)

Crews secured the booster aft skirts, stacked the solid rocket boosters, attached the external tank and lifted Endeavour into place.

Then

The full shuttle stack was assembled before the building around it was finished.

Now

The assembly allowed construction to proceed around the artifact, preserving the launch configuration.

Why this matters now

The engineering work explains why the exhibit is a full stack and why the opening came years after Endeavour arrived.

Sources

(4)
LAist City of Los Angeles Los Angeles Times American Society of Civil Engineers