Endeavour's new Los Angeles home opens, the only complete shuttle stack on display anywhere

The California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opened to the public at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 13, displaying the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour in a 20-story-tall full launch configuration — orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank — on permanent display. The Science Center says it is the only place in the world to see a complete, authentic space shuttle system.

200,000-square-foot expansion, three galleries

The new center covers 200,000 square feet, nearly doubling the Science Center's exhibit space, with three multi-level galleries: the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, the Korean Air Aviation Gallery and the Kent Kresa Space Gallery, holding 100 artifacts and 100 interactive exhibits. The Shuttle Gallery rises nearly 200 feet; visitors can ride a launch tower elevator 140 feet up and stand on a glass-floor observation platform above Endeavour's nose, try a landing simulator and a replica flight deck, and ride a 45-foot descent slide. The Aviation Gallery displays more than a dozen real aircraft, including the forward 70 feet of a Korean Air Boeing 747; the Space Gallery holds flown spacecraft such as the Mercury-Redstone 2 and Gemini 11 capsules.

About 30 astronauts at the ribbon-cutting

About 30 astronauts attended the ribbon-cutting, including all six crew members of Endeavour's final mission, STS-134, among them now-U.S. Senator Mark Kelly. From 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 13 through 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 15, astronaut talks are being held every half hour, with speakers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Armstrong Flight Research Center and no reservations required. November 13 also saw the premiere of the photo exhibit "Endeavour's Long Journey," documenting the shuttle's final flight over California and its 12-mile, 68-hour journey through the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood, followed by the six-month process of stacking its components vertically.

Free admission; timed reservations for the new center

Admission to the California Science Center is free, but because of expected high demand, entry to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center requires a timed reservation made in advance, with a $4 service fee per person; entry may be unavailable without one. The project is the third and final phase of the Science Center's three-decade master plan, with a budget of about $450 million, of which more than $415 million has been raised. The Science Center, in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.