Space Shuttle Rocket Launch Motors Are Headed To Science Center. Here's How To Watch

A pair of rocket engines will make their way through Exposition Park to the California Science Center on Wednesday. They are part of the "Go for Stack" project to move and lift space shuttle components for the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

Endeavour sits ready for launch in late 2000 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour will be ultimately be displayed in launch position at the California Science Center with rockets scheduled for delivery Wednesday, Oct. 11.

(

Bruce Weaver

/

AFP via Getty Images

)

Closures to watch

About 12 miles of roadway will be closed between Inglewood to the California Science Center. The twin engines will exit the 110 Freeway at Figueroa Street at around 7:30 a.m.

The motors will then trek northbound from 43rd Place to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard before arriving at the finish line at 39th Street. The public is welcome to see the engines at 9 a.m. to celebrate their arrival.

Best viewing of the rocket motors

The best viewing will probably be 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday along Figueroa Street. After that, they will be outside the Science Center for less than a month as final preparations are made to lift them into the new building, said Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center.

It is also the last opportunity for the public to see any part of the operation, he added. The California Science Center is currently in the process of moving the space shuttle Endeavour to its new home in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where it will stand upright.

Work is already underway on a new home for Endeavour, which will stand upright in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

(

Courtesy California Science Center

)

How big are the motors?

They are 116 feet long and around 12 feet in diameter.

“That is the size of a Boeing 757 fuselage both in diameter and in length,” Rudolph said. “It's like taking a 757 plane and turning it upright.”

Transportation process

The rocket motors will be towed on a truck bed, with each transported separately. “They really won't create any major issues with infrastructure. They will create some traffic issues, but they're minor,” Rudolph said. “They'll be like any large load accompanied by CHP and trucks with warnings of a wide load or large load. But it's a fairly easy move, honestly, once all the coordination is done, compared to the prior moves we've done.”

What's next

The twin engine arrival on Wednesday will be the best opportunity to see this part of the "Go for Stack" project. Visitors will still have a chance to see the Endeavour until Dec. 31, and when the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens to the public in 2025.