Endeavour, the recently retired space shuttle that flew 25 missions and 115 million miles, will soon be housed permanently at the California Science Center Foundation.
By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times
The price tag reads: $1,980,674,785.00. That’s the value of Endeavour, according to a NASA transfer order made out on Oct. 11 to the California Science Center Foundation, where the iconic space shuttle will be on permanent display starting this fall. Last flown in May 2011, Endeavour has now been retired from use after the U.S. Government shut down its space shuttle program.
Its next destination isn’t exactly the moon, but it was a major get for the Science Center and one that took years of planning. For Science Center CEO Jeffrey Rudolph, the idea of housing a Space Shuttle dates back to the late 1980s, when Rudolph and his team began their 25-year master plan.
“We were dreaming about it,” Rudolph said. “It was presumptuous to think that we would get one.”
As it became clear in recent years that the space shuttle program was winding down, Rudolph contacted Steve Soboroff, a real estate developer and philanthropist who lives in Pacific Palisades and is a Dolphin winner who is often involved in projects in Malibu. Rudolph had worked in the past with Soboroff on several projects, and asked if he could help lead the effort to get the shuttle for the Science Center.
“He’s one of the few people I can think of who can get things done and has relationships throughout the philanthropic community and the political system,” Rudolph said.
“There were six space shuttles built,” Soboroff explained. “Two of them didn’t make it. Three flew, one didn’t. When the space program was retired, one of them went to the Smithsonian, one to the Kennedy Space Center, [and] the third one—the government asked for different museums and presentations to see who would get it. It was a contest because it is a defined national treasure of the United States of America.”
On April 12, 2011, the dream came true as the Science Center beat out legions of competing museums for the right to become the permanent retirement home for a shuttle that had flown 25 missions and 115 million miles since 1992.
Once the euphoria subsided, the interesting part began. How do you get this national treasure from Florida to LAX, and from LAX to Exposition Boulevard? And how do you house an 80-foot wide, 6-story tall, 184-foot long space shuttle?
Turns out, the longest distance may be the easiest stretch of Endeavour’s trip. This autumn, the space shuttle will piggy-back on a specially outfitted Boeing 747 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to a hangar donated by United Airlines at LAX.
Then comes the hard part. Because the shuttle cannot be dismantled, transporting it will be an engineering challenge. William Harris, senior vice president of development and marketing for the Science Foundation, said the shuttle would be attached to an “Overland Transporter,” which is a large frame outfitted with a complex wheel system called Self-Propelled Mobile Transporters. It is estimated that moving the shuttle from LAX through the streets of L.A. to Exposition Park will take 13 hours, although a route has not been chosen yet.
“Fortunately, Los Angeles has wide boulevards and avenues,” Harris noted.
When the shuttle arrives, it will be on display at the Endeavour Display Pavilion until a permanent facility is erected by 2017.
“We’re going to mount it as a launch pad so it’s going to be vertical,” Soboroff said. “We have to build a 25-story building for it.”
In order to pay for the decommissioning of the shuttle, the transport from Florida to Los Angeles and the permanent hangar, the Science Center has already begun an extensive fundraising campaign.
“There will be all kinds of naming opportunities and leadership roles [for contributors],” Soboroff added, reaching out to Malibu’s space enthusiasts and people such as Dennis Tito, space’s first private citizen. A documentary will be produced. “Frankly, we’d like Tom Hanks to narrate it,” said Soboroff, who believes the Endeavour will be as “transformative” to L.A. as the Staples Center and Walt Disney Music Hall. “It will be one of the iconic reasons people will come to Los Angeles.”
Soboroff estimates the free attraction will draw 1 million visitors a year; a large boost for the Science Center’s “underserved” surrounding neighborhood. “The end game here is science and kids. We have it right here in Los Angeles.”
The goal of the campaign is to raise $200 million to host the space shuttle permanently. Not cheap, but considering the government’s price tag of $1,980,674,785.00, it appears the Science Center may have gotten a steal.