NASA's last-remaining, built-for-flight space shuttle external tank finally took to the sky, albeit for only two brief hops above Los Angeles.
In what was originally planned as an overnight move but extended into a two-day process due to wind concerns and added caution, External Tank-94 (ET-94) was taken aloft by two large cranes and lowered in front of and then between two solid rocket boosters such that together with the soon-to-follow orbiter Endeavour, the stack will form the world's only fully-authentic, upright space shuttle. The resulting 20-story-tall display will be the centerpiece of the California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Air and Space Museum when it it opens in the next few years.
"With the mating of ET-94 to the Solid Rocket Boosters, we have successfully completed a giant undertaking and the largest part of the space shuttle stack," Jeffrey Rudolph, president and chief executive officer of the California Science Center, said in a statement. "With this penultimate step, heartfelt appreciation goes out to our remarkable team whose dedication has made every stage of this complex and unprecedented operation a reality."
Related: End of year, end of exhibit: Space shuttle Endeavour goes off view for a few years
