Endeavour’s New Full Stack Makes Shuttle Design Easier to Read
Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour at the California Science Center now has a brand-new look as the spacecraft is exhibited in a way that provides a different perspective on how the vehicle functioned and how it could be used. The new exhibit will debut in November. According to California Science Center president and CEO Jeffrey N. Rudolph, “will be the only place in the world to see a complete authentic space shuttle system.”. While for most people such an exhibition would represent nothing but a nice display at the museum, for readers interested in aerospace issues, this exhibit will serve as a great reference for studying the propulsion, structure, crew access, and other aspects of the shuttle’s design.
The thing that really matters in this regard is the system approach, which is why the presentation of the whole shuttle, including the ET-94 external tank and two solid rocket boosters is important. In NASA’s shuttle operations, the orbiter had the crew, payloads, and main engines onboard; however, it launched as part of a stack. That stack included two solid rocket boosters and an ET-94 – the orange tank that stored the fuel and oxidizer for delivering the spacecraft to the orbit. Displaying those elements in their operational configuration will provide an understanding of what the actual launch configuration looked like and how the spacecraft differed from other rockets that placed the capsule on the top of the stack.
The Science Center is also planning to use this system aspect in designing the visitor experience. Guests will have an opportunity to travel on an elevator up the access tower and get inside the vehicle from where the crew entered the orbiter. Even further, visitors will be able to go onto a glass platform and see the internal parts of the spacecraft.
Curator Kenneth E. Phillips emphasized that the shuttle orbiter is quite complicated in its design: It’s large, it’s very complicated, but we wanted people to understand. At the same time, the curator called the installation an opportunity to see it very up close and personal. These statements describe well the uniqueness of this exhibit. Shuttle-era engineering was characterized by its complexity. It included the combination of reusable and non-reusable elements, human-rated access, thermal protection, propulsion hardware, and mission-specific payload capacity into a launch architecture. Looking at such elements in combination allows getting a much better idea about the design of the vehicle.
Endeavour itself is a very appropriate vehicle for that purpose. Designed to replace Challenger, this orbiter has been assembled using components from Discovery and Atlantis. In 25 flights between 1992 and 2011, this orbiter spent 299 days in space. That flight record adds even more value to the exhibit, allowing to link it to the vehicle that performed during the mature period of the shuttle program and conducted important human spaceflights.
The issue of preserving the historical equipment also needs to be considered. The California Science Center calls the installation the complete authentic shuttle system, which means not only that the display will serve educational purposes but also the purposes of long-term technical interpretation. Large aerospace programs are often reflected in the form of individual artifacts such as engines, capsules, mock-ups and so on. However, preserving the configuration of the equipment is important as it allows maintaining the relations between the parts, and it is usually the place where engineering stories lie.
The installation of the orbiter in the form of the whole system is especially valuable for the U.S. West Coast since it is one of only three surviving flown shuttle orbiters remaining in the United States and the only one of them on the West Coast. This allows California to keep a great human spaceflight hardware reference point. From the engineering perspective, the configuration preserves the layout of the launch stack, explaining why the shuttle was unique, complex, and efficient as compared to other spacecrafts of the era.
For readers interested in space systems, this installation serves as the reason why the Endeavour made its “final mission” to the museum. This is not just the static monument to the finished program. It is the installation that provides the complete presentation of the spacecraft. As the aerospace exhibit, it is unusually valuable since it preserves the whole system and not just the spacecraft.
David Whitaker is an associate editor for AMI’s aerospace and drone systems desk, translating flight systems, aircraft programs, spaceflight, and UAV developments into accessible technical stories.
