The California Science Center in Exposition Park opened its new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center on Friday, marking a major milestone for the museum and for Los Angeles residents who love science and space exploration.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the 200,000‑square‑foot expansion nearly doubles the museum’s exhibit space and houses the shuttle in a 140‑foot elevator that lifts visitors to a glass‑floor observation platform above the orbiter. The shuttle, Endeavour, stands in its nearly 200‑foot‑tall launch configuration, the only complete, authentic space‑shuttle system on public view anywhere in the world.
CBS Los Angeles notes that the $450 million project includes three multilevel galleries: the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, the Korean Air Aviation Gallery, and the Kent Kresa Space Gallery. The shuttle gallery features authentic solid‑rocket boosters and the last flight‑qualified external tank, ET‑94, displayed upright in a 200‑foot‑high building that began construction in 2022.
The grand opening was highlighted by a special program with about 30 astronauts, including all six crew members from Endeavour’s final mission, STS‑134, and Senator Mark Kelly, the last astronaut to command the orbiter. Kelly, who piloted Endeavour on his first flight in December 2001 and commanded its final mission on June 1 2011, praised the exhibit, calling Endeavour “my favorite spaceship” and emphasizing the thousands of union workers, engineers, and scientists who made the shuttle program possible.
Endeavour’s history is woven throughout the new galleries. Built in Palmdale, the shuttle lifted off for the first time on May 7 1992 and completed 25 missions before retirement in 2012. After arriving at Los Angeles International Airport in October 2012, the orbiter was towed through city streets on a Toyota Tundra before finding its home at the Science Center, a moment Kelly recalled from his 2012 visit to Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood.
Visitors can now experience a shuttle landing simulator, sit inside a replica flight deck, descend a 45‑foot slide that mimics re‑entry, and explore additional aerospace artifacts such as the Mercury‑Redstone 2 capsule, Gemini 11 capsule, and Apollo‑Soyuz Command Module. The Korean Air Aviation Gallery showcases more than a dozen aircraft, including a Boeing 747‑400, while the Kent Kresa Space Gallery offers hands‑on activities developed with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including programming a miniature Mars rover.
With the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center open to the public, Los Angeles families, students, and space enthusiasts have unprecedented access to the nation’s space‑flight heritage, reinforcing the city’s role as a hub for science education and inspiration.
Sources: nbclosangeles.com, cbsnews.com
