Space Exploration Day - the California Science Center will commence Go for Stack, the complex process of moving and lifting each of the space shuttle components into place for Endeavour’s upcoming, awe-inspiring 20-story vertical display in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, currently under construction.

Today, on Space Exploration Day, the California Science Center began Go for Stack, the complex process of moving and lifting each space shuttle component into place for Endeavour’s upcoming, awe-inspiring, 20-story vertical display.

On October 11, 2023, exactly eleven years after Space Shuttle Endeavour made its 12-mile journey across the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood, the California Science Center invites the public to come out and watch the arrival of two large Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs), the next phase of Go for Stack – the complex, multi-phase process of moving and lifting each of the space shuttle components into place for Endeavour’s upcoming awe-inspiring 20-story vertical display.

This week, two 116-foot long Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs), each weighing over 100,000 lbs., were securely lifted by crane and stacked in their final vertical position at the California Science Center. The placement is the latest achievement in Go for Stack, the complex, multi-phase process of moving and lifting each of the components into place for the world’s only authentic, “ready-to-launch” space shuttle system. 

The Two Boosters Will Be Part of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s 20-Story “Ready-to-Launch" Display, the Star Attraction of the Future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

The California Science Center reached another major milestone toward its future display of space shuttle Endeavour in ready-to-launch configuration with the completed mating of the massive External Tank, ET-94, to the Solid Rocket Boosters.

The California Science Center has successfully completed the world’s only authentic space shuttle system display in launch configuration. Endeavour's installation in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a major expansion of the California Science Center, is the grand finale of the unprecedented Go for Stack process.

The placement of the Solid Rocket Booster Aft Skirts on July 20, 2023, will serve as the  foundation of the vertical shuttle stack.

The shuttle stacking process, which will take approximately six months, will begin with  the Aft Skirts installation on July 20, 2023 and will be marked by seven important  milestones:

“Go for Stack” is the complex process of moving and lifting each of the space shuttle components into place for Endeavour’s upcoming, awe-inspiring 20-story vertical display in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is currently under construction. This technically challenging feat has never been done outside of a NASA facility.

On November 7, 2023 the California Science Center will continue Go for Stack with the lifting  and mating of two large Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs).