Just days after it was taken off exhibit and as its external tank is scheduled for its brief return to flight, NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour is heading under wraps.
With the new year getting underway, the California Science Center in Los Angeles is expecting to complete its unprecedented "Go for Stack" campaign, ultimately taking Endeavour vertical to create the world's only exhibit of a fully authentic, 20-story-tall space shuttle as last seen on the launch pad. Endeavour, with its twin solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank, is set to become the star attraction of the science center's new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is slated to open in the next few years.
"On Tuesday [Jan. 2], we are starting the work to remove the west wall of the pavilion where Endeavour had been on display for the past 11 years," said Jeffrey Rudolph, president and chief executive officer of the California Science Center, in an interview with collectSPACE.com. "The wall has to come off to move Endeavour out. It is the same way we moved her into the pavilion back in 2012."
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