![]() The Crew Dragon Endeavour has little in common with the space shuttle, having been designed by SpaceX to be a 21st century vehicle. Click to view and enlarge in a new, pop-up window. Hurley also flew a second time on the space shuttle, but aboard Atlantis, as the pilot of the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135 in 2011. Behnken preceded him aboard orbiter by two flights, launching as an STS-123 mission specialist the year earlier.īehnken flew again on Endeavour on STS-130, the orbiter's penultimate mission, in 2010. ![]() Hurley's first launch was as the pilot of the shuttle Endeavour's 23rd mission, STS- 127 in 2009. So that is what we decided to go with," he said. We both had our first flights on shuttle Endeavour, and it just meant so much to us to carry on that name. "The other reason we named it 'Endeavour' is a little more personal for Bob and I. launchpad and the first-ever by a commercial company. "One, because of this incredible endeavor NASA, SpaceX and the United States has been on since the end of the space shuttle program back in 2011," he said, referencing the space agency's commercial crew program that led up to their orbital launch, the first in nine years from a U.S. Hurley said there were a couple of reasons why he and Behnken chose the name. "So without further ado, we would like to welcome you aboard capsule 'Endeavour.'" "I know most of you, at SpaceX especially, know it as 'Capsule 206,' but I think all of us thought that maybe we could do a little bit better than that," Hurley said, in part addressing the team in SpaceX's mission control at the company's spacecraft and rocket assembly facility in Hawthorne, California. since the end of the space shuttle program have named their commercial spacecraft after one of the retired winged orbiters.ĭoug Hurley and Bob Behnken revealed the name of their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule during a live broadcast from Earth orbit, about three hours after they lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday (May 30). Times staff writer Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.- The first NASA astronauts to launch from the U.S. “It’s pretty exciting to see this first step in fulfilling a decadeslong journey,” he said. Rudolph said there have been plans for more than 30 years to exhibit a full space shuttle in launch configuration, and now they are about to make that vision a reality. I think it will truly be a transformational experience.” I could actually do that.’” Phillips said. ![]() “I want to see them walk through there, … and for them to know what an epiphany it is where you have this amazing insight and you think, ‘Oh wait a minute, I could actually do that. Phillips said he hopes the space shuttle will inspire people, especially kids, to get involved with space exploration, aeronautics and exploring the universe. He said the building construction will take about two more years to complete and it could take at least an additional year to move other artifacts into the building.Īs a way to protect the stack while construction of the new center continues, scaffolding will be built around it, which will be covered with plywood and Kevlar fabric. It could take at least three years before the new center will open to the public, said Ken Phillips, curator for aerospace science at the California Science Center. ![]() This will be the last chance for guests to see the space shuttle up close for years before Endeavour will be on view again at the space center. Museum guests will have until the end of the year to see Endeavour on display before it’s moved. In 2012, the Endeavour captivated people across California as it flew past the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood sign atop a Boeing 747, before it underwent a three-day trek on land over the 405 Freeway and across the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood to its home at the California Science Center. The new location will give guests views from multiple platforms, including from beneath the orbiter’s three main engines as well as from above, looking through a glass floor directly at its nose.Įndeavour flew 25 missions, with its first mission in 1992 and its last in 2011. All four elements combined are called a shuttle’s full stack. The famed spacecraft that has been on horizontal display at the science center is in the process of moving to a permanent location in what will be the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where the vehicle will be mounted in a vertical position, along with the solid rocket boosters and an orange external tank, making it look like it’s ready to launch. The space shuttle Endeavour began the first part of its journey to its final resting place Thursday, an effort more than a decade in the making after arriving at the California Science Center museum in 2012.
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