Richard T. Par
As mentioned in yesterday's blog entry, here are pictures that I took at the new exhibit that recently opened at the California Science Center in Los Angeles!
On display inside a large room on the Science Center's second floor is a flown SpaceX Dragon capsule—designated C108—and a Rocket Lab Electron booster. Also, there are a couple of video kiosks and the Space Shuttle Main Engine that were previously displayed along with Endeavour inside the Samuel Oschin Pavilion before it permanently closed last December.
Dragon C108 flew three times to the International Space Station...for CRS-6 in 2015, CRS-13 in 2017 and CRS-18 in 2019. This Dragon is one of only four SpaceX freighters now on display around the U.S.; C101 is on display at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, CA; C102 is at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida; and C113 is on permanent exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry in Illinois.
While it was awesome to see Dragon in person, I was mostly thrilled by seeing the Electron booster up-close! (I previously saw Dragon twice in person 11 years ago...outside the California Science Center for Endeavour Fest, and at the now-defunct E3 show near downtown Los Angeles.)
Don't forget that it was a Rocket Lab launch that officially kicked off the Artemis program almost two years ago—when an Electron booster sent NASA's CAPSTONE spacecraft to the Moon to study the near-rectilinear halo orbit that will be used by the Gateway lunar space station before the end of this decade. I'm sure that this Electron, along with Dragon C108, will be two of the permanent displays at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center once it opens to the public.
With Dragon and Electron being two unexpected pieces of flight hardware to go on display inside the California Science Center, one wonders what other exciting vehicles will appear at the museum in the future?
Perhaps a Crew Dragon or Cargo Dragon 2 capsule once SpaceX begins phasing out these spacecraft in favor of Starship? An Alpha rocket provided by Firefly Aerospace? Or a Starliner capsule if this vehicle flies enough that Boeing can donate a couple of them to museums nationwide?
We'll have to wait and see!
Richard T. Par
Richard T. Par
Richard T. Par
Richard T. Par
Richard T. Par
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