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That would make the center ready in time for when Los Angeles hosts visitors from around the world to see the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n
One of the aspects that makes this place special is its showcase, the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The spacecraft stands in a stack position, meaning it\u2019s standing \u2014 complete with boosters and a rare fuel tank \u2014 as if it were ready to launch. It\u2019s the only shuttle in the nation to feature such a feat.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey N. Rudolph, president and chief executive of the California Science Center, and Ted Hyman, partner at architectural firm ZGF, which designed the air and space center, recently shared updates with The Times, including news of an exclusive partnership with director\/producer J.J. Abrams\u2019 production company Bad Robot.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(William Liang \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n
What\u2019s that shiny thing off the 110 Freeway?<\/p>\n
That silver cylindrical colossus that is easily seen from the freeway houses the stacked space shuttle.<\/p>\n
The Endeavour was meticulously placed there in January 2024<\/a> as much of the museum was built around it.<\/p>\n As for the 20-story diagrid, or shuttle housing building, the museum\u2019s construction crew is about 80% finished wrapping a stainless-steel skin exterior around the shuttle, according to an estimate from Mark Piaia, a ZGF project architect.<\/p>\n The shiny view comes courtesy of 4,247 panels and 1,074 diagonal strips that would stand 7,862 feet tall if lined up.<\/p>\n (William Liang \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n When will construction be done and the museum be open?<\/p>\n Rudolph said building construction is expected to be completed this year.<\/p>\n He would not provide an official opening day but noted that artifact and exhibit installations would still need to be completed.<\/p>\n The museum is expected to house about 20 planes and jets, including a Boeing 747.<\/p>\n There are also plans for a 45-foot slide that imitates the feeling of entering the atmosphere with a radiating orange glow, two sonic booms and the \u201cS\u201d turns a shuttle would make upon reentry.<\/p>\n (Courtesy of ZGF via the California Science Center)<\/p>\n What should visitors expect to see?<\/p>\n Rudolph was excited about what he\u2019s calling \u201cthe reveal.\u201d<\/p>\n He exclusively told The Times that a pair of introductory films are being produced by directing\/producing titan J.J. Abrams\u2019 Bad Robot. That\u2019s the same production company responsible for some of the latest \u201cStar Wars\u201d and \u201cMission:Impossible\u201d movies.<\/p>\n The first film will greet visitors as they walk into the museum and will focus on the entire air and space exhibits.<\/p>\n The second will screen at a mini theater at the entrance to the space shuttle exhibit. It is a five-minute film that focuses on the history and inspiration behind the space shuttle. The film ends with a simulated launch, during which steam rises from the floor and through hallway doors and fills the theater.<\/p>\n As the steam impairs a guest\u2019s vision, the screen is removed and visitors get a surprise: a full, \u201cenvelope\u201d view of the stacked 20-story space shuttle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an amazing experience and we want to really build it up,\u201d Rudolph said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about the hardware, but about the people and the educational aspects.\u201d<\/p>\n Can visitors get inside the shuttle?<\/p>\n The delicate nature of the shuttle makes that impossible.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no way,\u201d Rudolph said. \u201cThe hatch is very small and it\u2019s very fragile.\u201d<\/p>\n There is, however, a mock-up of the flight deck \u2014 an area designed to carry cargo \u2014 that visitors can toy with to get a feel that only shuttle astronauts once got.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll continue to follow the progress of the air and space museum as we head toward opening day.<\/p>\n The week\u2019s biggest stories (Carlin Stiehl \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Crime, courts and policingICE, immigration, raids and reactionsFires and wildfiresTelevision and entertainment newsMore big storiesThis week\u2019s must readsMore great readsFor your weekend (Brook Rushton \/ Sony Pictures Releasing)<\/p>\n Going outStaying in<\/p>\n Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team<\/b><\/p>\n Jim Rainey, staff writer How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Along with the stars on Hollywood Boulevard and the Universal Studios theme park, a new celestial attraction is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":77001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[7830,7828,1582,276,7832,7824,7823,4140,6123,6772,7826,2961,224,2444,5337,2295,7825,5812,7829,7831,2501,527,7827],"class_list":{"0":"post-77000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-autopilot","9":"tag-black-bears","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-convictions","13":"tag-coronavirus","14":"tag-covid","15":"tag-covid-19","16":"tag-driver","17":"tag-drought","18":"tag-essential-california-week","19":"tag-la","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-los-angeles-times","22":"tag-losangeles","23":"tag-newsletter","24":"tag-pandemic","25":"tag-search","26":"tag-tesla","27":"tag-thousands","28":"tag-ucla","29":"tag-water","30":"tag-years"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114883426102634570","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} <\/p>\n
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Diamy Wang, homepage intern
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Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n