Northrop Grumman is using most of its leftover shuttle-era solid rocket motor hardware to support NASA's SLS, which is being built to launch astronauts to the moon. (Image credit: California Science Center/Perry Roth Johnson via ) The retired space shuttle Endeavour debuted on horizontal display in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Oct. After expending their propellant, the twin boosters separated from the vehicle and descended under parachute to a splashdown for their recovery and reuse. The 149-foot (45 meter) solid rocket boosters produced most of the thrust needed for the space shuttle's first two minutes of flight. It will still be a pretty cool thing to watch them come through the streets," said Rudolph. "These are big, but they're a lot easier to move. Once the project is funded and the Oschin Air and Space Center is ready for Endeavour, the two solid rocket motors that are now in Mojave will be brought to the science center with the same pomp and circumstance that the orbiter and external tank previously received. "We are optimistic that we will be able to start construction in the next year."Ī solid rocket motor comprised of parts that previously launched on numerous space shuttle missions is prepared for delivery from Northrop Grumman's Promontory, Utah test facility to Mojave Air and Space Port, to be stored until the California Science Center is ready to exhibit it with the orbiter Endeavour. We've made good progress, but we are not quite there yet to start," Jeff Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, told. "Honestly, we're still working on the fundraising. Although it now has all of the components for the space shuttle, the science center is still waiting to break ground on the new building. When the boosters' donation was first announced, the California Science Center was targeting 2019 for the opening of Endeavour's vertical display in the planned Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. "Northrop Grumman and NASA are providing most of the smaller parts, like booster separation motors, from surplus." "As for the non-motor parts of the booster, we sourced a set of flight-representative aft skirts and frustums from NASA surplus and a set of forward skirts that were used for tests for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) program that are currently in Utah," said Jenkins. The solid rocket motors for the California Science Center’s vertical display of the space shuttle Endeavour will remain at the Mojave Air and Space Port until the science center's new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Los Angeles is ready.
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