Space Shuttle Endeavour Looks Absolutely Incredible In All Its ‘Full Stack’ Glory
Endeavour, the last space shuttle ever built, has been displayed like no other, and the result is jaw-dropping.
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The California Science Center (CSC) in Los Angeles gave a sneak peek today of its long-awaited, much anticipated attraction — the towering Space Shuttle Endeavour in its ‘full stack’ configuration. The spacecraft was the last of five orbiters ever built and the most advanced. After a long wait, the public will soon be able to view it in all its glory inside its purpose-built permanent display building.
Endeavour is the centerpiece of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. It is a 200,000-square-foot expansion of the museum and will be “the only place in the world to see a complete, authentic space shuttle system, displayed in a 20-story launch position,” CSC said in a media release on Wednesday.
The exhibit is set to open on Nov. 13, 2026.
California Science Center
California Science Center
California Science Center
Mike Kelley
Mike Kelley
Endeavour was born out of the tragic loss of Challenger on January 28, 1986. NASA had to figure out how to replace the doomed orbiter, so it looked at several options.
Feb. 1, 2003: Space shuttle Columbia disaster
The first shuttle, Enterprise, was built as a developmental test vehicle and made its first independent flight from the back of the converted 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) on Aug. 12, 1977. Enterprise was also used for fit checks on the launch pad and many other engineering and testing activities, but it was not built to fly into space. Although it was available for modification and could feasibly be altered for full duty, NASA decided converting it for orbital work was not the best move. Instead, the all new orbiter that would be named Endeavour was authorized for construction in 1987.
Endeavour lifted off on its maiden voyage on May 7, 1992, and flew 25 times, with its final flight coming in May 2011. As the last of its breed, it incorporated new features and upgrades, including being the first shuttle to carry a Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS), according to Space.com. Endeavour also had “the first fully activated Advanced Health Management System to watch over the shuttle’s three main engines during launch, as well as a three-string global positioning system (GPS) for pinpoint navigation during landings,” the publication added. In addition, the last of the orbiters was built with the most advanced avionics, with glass displays, when it entered service.
Space Shuttle Enterprise – Free flight Test – ABC News – 8/12/1977
During its time in space, Endeavour performed a variety of tasks, including helping to construct and sustain the International Space Station. Throughout its career, it spent 299 days in space, orbiting the Earth nearly 4,700 times and logging close to 123 million miles, according to NASA.
“Among Endeavour’s missions was the first to include four spacewalks, and then the first to include five,” the space agency added. “Its STS-67 mission set a length record almost two full days longer than any shuttle mission before it. Its airlock is the only one to have seen three spacewalkers exit through it for a single spacewalk. And in its cargo bay, the first two pieces of the International Space Station were joined together.”
The Space Shuttle Endeavour, docked to the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-2) on the International Space Station, is featured in this photograph taken by a crewmember during the mission’s first planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA) August 15, 2007 in Space. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images) NASA
During an 11-day mission in 2000, the astronauts “used the radar instruments in Endeavour’s payload bay to obtain elevation data on a near global scale,” NASA noted about the mission with a military connection. “The data produced the most complete, high-resolution digital elevation model of the Earth. The SRTM [Shuttle Radar Topography Mission] comprised a cooperative effort among NASA with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, managing the project, the Department of Defense’s National Imagery and Mapping Agency [now the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency], the German space agency, and the Italian space agency. Prior to SRTM, scientists had a more detailed topographic map of Venus than of the Earth, thanks to the Magellan radar mapping mission.”
Endeavour, like the rest of the orbiters, always captured the public’s imagination. In December 2008, the spacecraft made its voyage back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida after landing at Edwards AFB. A photo of that trip, taken from an F/A-18B Hornet flying overhead, was once described by TWZ as “Arguably The Most Spectacular Photo Of NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Ever.” You can read more about that picture and the flight in our story from the time here.
While plans had been in the works for a while to house Endeavour in a purpose-built exhibit, a major issue developed.
“An earthquake-resistant building large enough to house a 184-foot-tall Shuttle stack had a staggering cost estimate of $400 million,” AmericaSpace.com explained. “The California Science Center was unable to raise enough money to build the facility prior to Endeavour’s arrival. The museum still needed to protect the orbiter from the elements, so it built a metal hangar to temporarily house the spacecraft. The more aspirational exhibit would be conducted at a later date.”
That later date will be in November, as we noted earlier.
Space shuttle Endeavour's trek across LA: Timelapse
The CSC is one of four locations where the surviving shuttle fleet is being displayed.
