NASA's retired Space Shuttle Endeavour was carefully hoisted and mated to a huge external fuel tank and its two solid rocket boosters at a Los Angeles museum, where it will be uniquely displayed as if it is about to blast off.
The first launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur also served as a successful demonstration of the GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters developed by Northrop Grumman, which produced over 900,000 pounds-force of thrust and are the largest monolithic solid rocket boosters built. Northrop Grumman is now focused on scaling up production of the GEM 63XL to meet the demand for Vulcan launches, and is looking to incorporate technologies tested through its SMART Demo program into the boosters.
The California Science Center has completed the first major components for the vertical exhibit of NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour by adding two nose cones to the solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The 27-foot-tall assemblies, weighing 10,000 pounds each, were raised and secured onto the boosters, which were previously hoisted into place. These SRBs, assembled from flight-worthy or previously launched parts, will be mated with NASA's last-remaining space shuttle external tank early next year. Endeavour's current exhibit will be closed to the public on January 1, 2024, in preparation for its move to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center site.