Los Angeles is about to see a space shuttle the way astronauts saw it on launch day. The California Science Center will open the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center on November 13, 2026, in Exposition Park, with Space Shuttle Endeavour standing in a full 20-story launch position — complete with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. It will be the only place in the world to see a complete, authentic space shuttle system displayed exactly as it looked before liftoff.
The 200,000-square-foot expansion nearly doubles the Science Center’s exhibit space. Inside, visitors will explore three multi-level galleries — the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, the Korean Air Aviation Gallery and the Kent Kresa Space Gallery — with 100 historic aerospace artifacts and 100 new hands-on exhibits about flight, science and engineering.
The experiences are designed to feel close to the real thing. Guests can ride a gantry-style elevator 140 feet up alongside the shuttle stack, drop 45 feet down the Shuttle Descent Slide while hearing the double sonic boom of re-entry, and sit inside a replica flight deck to try the joysticks, switches and pedals a commander and pilot would use. The Shuttle Gallery, nearly 200 feet high, also tells the story of all 135 shuttle missions.
Endeavour flew 25 missions between 1992 and 2011 before making its unforgettable street journey from LAX to Exposition Park in 2012. General admission to the California Science Center, including the new center, remains free, with timed reservations available in advance for a small service fee. The museum, at 700 Exposition Park Drive, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Photo: Clyde Charles Brown / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
