The California Science Center will open its new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, unveiling a 184‑foot‑tall vertical stack of the space shuttle Endeavour, its external tank and twin solid‑rocket boosters. Engineers spent four years engineering the display, a feat once thought possible only at a NASA facility. Visitors will step into a launch‑pad‑like setting that dwarfs typical museum exhibits.

Project director Dennis Jenkins, a former shuttle engineer, described the logistics as “extremely difficult yet extremely easy” once the team cracked the method of stacking the orbiter without a specialized cradle. The center also houses the Korean Air Aviation Gallery and Kent Kresa Space Gallery, displaying over 25 aircraft and a mix of historic and modern spacecraft.

Inside the gallery, one payload‑bay door remains open, allowing guests to view equipment that once serviced International Space Station missions, while lighting adjustments and acrylic shields keep the interior pristine. A pre‑show theater leads visitors to a glass‑elevator that ascends beside the shuttle, offering a transparent walkway for unparalleled perspectives. The exhibit promises a once‑in‑a‑lifetime view of a launch stack.