Endeavour’s New Los Angeles Home Opens to the Public

WHO:

ABC7 Los Angeles - The California Science Center opened the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

ABC7 Los Angeles - Astronauts attended the opening, including all six crew members of space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission, STS-134, commanded by Mark Kelly, identified in the article as a Democratic U.S. senator from Arizona.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The center’s space gallery includes artifacts from the Mercury-Redstone 2 and Gemini 11 missions and the Apollo-Soyuz mission.

ABC7 Los Angeles - NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center experts were scheduled to give presentations during the opening weekend.

Space.com - The Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center is home to NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour.

WHAT:

ABC7 Los Angeles - Endeavour is displayed in a nearly 200-foot-tall launch configuration with authentic solid rocket boosters and an external tank. The Science Center describes it as the only complete, authentic space shuttle system on view anywhere in the world.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The 200,000-square-foot expansion nearly doubles the Science Center’s exhibit space and includes 100 aerospace artifacts and 100 hands-on exhibits focused on science and engineering.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The shuttle gallery has a 140-foot elevator ride to a glass-floor observation platform above the orbiter, a shuttle-landing simulator, a replica flight deck and a 45-foot slide.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The three galleries are the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, Korean Air Aviation Gallery and Kent Kresa Space Gallery.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The aviation gallery features more than a dozen aircraft, including gliders, fighter jets and part of a Korean Air Boeing 747-400. A five-minute simulated flight runs from Los Angeles to Seoul.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The space gallery includes flown spacecraft and exhibits developed with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including models and replicas representing six decades of robotic exploration and an activity programming a miniature Mars rover.

ABC7 Los Angeles - “Endeavour’s Long Journey,” a photo exhibit about the shuttle’s final flight over California, its 12-mile, 68-hour journey through Los Angeles and Inglewood, and its vertical installation, was to be shown in the Weingart Foundation Special Exhibits Gallery.

ABC7 Los Angeles - Science Center general admission is free; timed reservations are required for the new center because of anticipated demand. A $4 service fee is waived for members and for same-day, in-person reservations.

Space.com - The center opened to the public.

WHERE:

ABC7 Los Angeles - The center is at the California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The photo exhibit is on the third floor.

WHY:

ABC7 Los Angeles - Mark Kelly said children would be inspired by seeing Endeavour “to build hard things, and do hard things,” explore and “dream about the futures.”

ABC7 Los Angeles - Timed reservations were required for the new center because of anticipated demand.

HOW:

ABC7 Los Angeles - The grand-opening program was followed by a ribbon-cutting and public opening at 10 a.m.; entry could be limited or unavailable without advance reservations.

ABC7 Los Angeles - Free astronaut and aerospace talks were scheduled every half-hour during the opening weekend, with the final talk at 4 p.m. Topics included women in space, mission overviews, aviation and space.

ABC7 Los Angeles - The center’s regular hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

(UPDATED November 14, 2026 10:00 UTC)

Los Angeles opened a major new space center at the California Science Center. Its galleries showcase aircraft, spacecraft, hands-on exhibits, and artifacts from space missions. Space shuttle Endeavour stands with authentic boosters and tank, completing a unique display.