Photos of the Day: The Exterior of Space Shuttle Endeavour's New Home is Complete!

Earlier today, I drove down to the California Science Center near downtown Los Angeles to check up on the current status of space shuttle Endeavour's permanent home, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. As you can see from these images, the exterior of the new building is complete!

While the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center now looks like the gorgeous renderings that were released when construction on the exhibit commenced three years ago, it will still take at least a year to fill the Center with the scores of flight artifacts that will accompany Endeavour's Space Shuttle Stack inside the $425-million structure. The orbiter's new home, as currently scheduled, is set to open either in late 2026 or 2027.

Stay tuned!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

Photos of the Day: Endeavour's Permanent Home Continues to Take Shape in Los Angeles...

Earlier today, I drove down to the California Science Center near downtown Los Angeles to check on the status of Endeavour's permanent home, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

As shown in these images, the diagrid structure that enshrouds Endeavour and her Space Shuttle Stack is close to being fully assembled; the only task that needs to be done now is install all of the stainless-steel skin panels around the structure's exterior. The steel panels are also being attached to the rest of the building that will house scores of aerospace exhibits once the Air and Space Center is complete.

The "Work in Progress (WIP)" exhibit, shown at the very bottom of this entry, displays flight artifacts that will eventually be moved into the Air and Space Center after the WIP exhibit permanently closes this Sunday, May 18. The artifacts include a flown SpaceX Dragon freighter (designated C108), a Rocket Lab Electron booster, a Space Shuttle Main Engine as well as a Gemini capsule and Apollo-Soyuz Command Module.

I look forward to visiting the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center for another status check later this year!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

The Work in Progress exhibit on video#SpaceX #Apollo #DTLA pic.twitter.com/j1Y5cUwkZn

— Rich Par (@AstroPnoy) May 16, 2025

Photos of the Day: The Latest Update on Endeavour's Permanent Home...

Earlier today, I drove down to the California Science Center near downtown Los Angeles to check out the latest construction status on the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center...and needless to say, the permanent home of the orbiter Endeavour is lookin' good!

Endeavour's Space Shuttle Stack is no longer visible from outdoors—as the vehicle is completely covered up by scaffolding and white tarps for temporary protection while the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery's rooftop, known as a diagrid structure, continues to take shape above NASA's youngest retired orbiter. When finished, the diagrid will rise nearly 200 feet into the sky...making it almost as tall as the Coit Tower in San Francisco!

Construction on the Air and Space Center looks to be completed by early next year. After that, scores of aerospace artifacts (such as this Cassini replica that was donated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 19 miles from the California Science Center) will commence being installed inside the new museum wing.

But of course, it's Endeavour—inside the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery—that I'm most excited to see once this latest addition to the Science Center opens within the next year or so. Happy Birthday to me! Yes, it was today.


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

The Latest Update on L.A.'s Space Shuttle Stack...

Richard T. Par

Earlier today, I drove down to the California Science Center in Los Angeles to check out Endeavour's Space Shuttle Stack once more.

As shown in these photos that I took, ET-94—Endeavour's external fuel tank—is also covered by scaffolding just like Endeavour herself and the twin solid rocket boosters. Plywood panels have also been placed above the external tank for added protection.

Pretty soon, the Space Shuttle Stack will be completely concealed by white tarps as assembly has begun on the rooftop enclosure which will enshroud the vehicle once the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center finishes construction.

Seeing as how visiting the California Science Center ain't cheap (I obviously spend money on gas, plus $15 on parking at the Science Center and up to $15 on lunch, which is usually a delicious 2-taco plate, each time I drive down to Exposition Park), it might be a while till I visit the museum again to see what the latest construction status is on Endeavour's future exhibit...which itself will be known as the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery. No, I don't want to take a Metrolink train to Los Angeles.

I may wait till the entire skeleton frame for the gallery's rooftop enclosure is assembled before I return to Exposition Park to take photos of this exciting new addition to the Science Center. Until then, those of you thinking about visiting Endeavour as well should go as soon as possible!

The world's only authentic Space Shuttle Stack will soon be closed off from direct California sunlight and um, fresh air (yes, I know— This is Los Angeles we're talking about here) by the end of this year! Happy Wednesday.


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

Photos of the Day #2: Dragon and Electron on Display in Los Angeles...

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

Photos of the Day: Endeavour Gets Ready to be Placed Under the Roof...

Two days ago, I drove down to the California Science Center in Los Angeles to check out Endeavour's Space Shuttle Stack once more.

As shown in these photos that I took, Endeavour and her twin solid rocket boosters (SRBs) are fully covered by scaffolding—with layers of plywood placed above the orbiter and her SRBs to protect them while construction workers prepare to assemble the rooftop enclosure that will enshroud the vehicle as the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center moves a step closer to completion.

Not only did I see Endeavour during last Thursday's visit, but I also checked out a new exhibit that quietly opened on the California Science Center's second floor...right next to the space gallery featuring the historic Mercury, Gemini and Apollo-Soyuz capsules! (Check out my post on X to see a short video that I shot of this gallery.)

What's inside that new exhibit, you ask? More on that in the next blog entry!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

Photo of the Day: Endeavour in the City of Angels...

California Science Center

Just thought I'd share this awesome image—taken by a drone operated by the California Science Center—of Endeavour's Space Shuttle Stack proudly standing tall with the downtown Los Angeles skyline visible in the distance.

Following the winter storm that soaked Southern California for a couple of days last week, the Science Center took this opportunity to capture a soon-to-be-iconic image of NASA's youngest retired orbiter poised in a vertical launch position for the first time since mission STS-134 almost 13 years ago...with L.A.'s infamous smog layer nowhere to be seen in this picture.

Eventually, the Science Center will fully cover the Space Shuttle Stack in scaffolding and plywood for temporary protection as construction continues on the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center!

Hail Endeavour! Visiting the World's Only Authentic Space Shuttle Stack in L.A. Once More...

Richard T. Par

As mentioned in this blog entry two days ago, I drove back to the California Science Center this morning to view Endeavour in person once again! This time, the retired NASA orbiter was freely pointing up at the heavens from her vantage point inside the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center...after the yellow metal sling that mated the vehicle to the rest of the Space Shuttle Stack last Tuesday was removed by Wednesday evening.

It remains to be seen when I'll head back to Los Angeles to check out the only decommissioned space shuttle orbiter that's located west of the Mississippi. The process of fully enclosing Endeavour, her external tank ET-94 and the twin solid rocket boosters with protective scaffolding and plywood (as work ramps up at the Air and Space Center's construction site now that the Stack is in place) should begin in earnest—once weather improves here in Southern California.

Another winter storm will be hitting SoCal by this Sunday, and conclude next Tuesday. Stay tuned!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par