Crew moves fuel tank into position for Space Shuttle Endeavour display
By Orange County on January 10, 2024
A massive orange fuel tank was slowly moved about 1,000 feet through Exposition Park on Wednesday, Jan. 10, being prepared to be lifted into vertical position as part of the eventual upright, launch-ready display of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center.
Moving the tank, known as ET-94, was a delicate operation, taking roughly two hours for the relatively short journey. ET-94 is 154 feet long, 27.5 feet in diameter and weighs about 65,000 pounds, according to the Science Center. It is the last remaining flight-qualified external tank in existence.
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Jayce Borski, center, is one of the two operators controlling the SPMT’s. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Jayce Borski is one of the two operators controlling the SPMT’s. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Jayce Borski is one of the two operators controlling the SPMT’s. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The two 149 ft. solid rocket boosters are prepared to be joined to the fuel tank. External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
External Tank ET-94 is transported within Exposition Park by two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) along State Drive to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site in preparation for its lift, after a two-hour, 1,000-foot journey past the California Science Center and the Park’s iconic Rose Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Beginning at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, crews employed a “self-propelled modular transporter” for the tank’s 1,000-foot journey past the Science Center building and the Exposition Park Rose Garden to the site of the under-construction Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which will house the one-of-a-kind shuttle display.
With the tank in place, a heavy-duty crane will be used to lift it into the air sometime after 10 p.m. Thursday or early Friday morning, and then lower it into vertical position alongside two already-standing solid rocket boosters.
Vertical assembly of the twin 149-foot tall rocket boosters was completed in early December. That assembly includes the aft skirts or base of the boosters, along with the116-foot-long rocket motors and the “forward assembly,” or cone-shaped tops.
The addition of ET-94 to the vertical display will leave the star attraction — the shuttle Endeavour itself — as the only component left to move. An opening date for the new $400 million center has not yet been determined.
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