Space Shuttle Endeavor’s massive rocket motors to pass through the Victor Valley

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
Updated ·4 min read
5

Two massive “Solid Rocket Motors” from Space Shuttle Endeavor will pass through the Victor Valley and the Cajon Pass on Tuesday morning on their way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

At 104,000 pounds each, the steel rocket motor cases will be transported on two separate trucks.

Donated by the Northrop Grumman Corporation, the 116-foot-long rocket motor cases, with 12 feet, 2-inch diameters, will draw photographers and the curious, and cause traffic congestion.

The rocket motors from shuttle Endeavor have been in storage at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Kern County, north of Los Angeles County, since September 2020.

The motor cases are the final elements of Endeavour's stack which will arrive at the science center, which is constructing the $400-million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. The space center will be the final museum home of Endeavour, which is being assembled to appear as if ready for liftoff, California Science Center officials said.

The space center’s new wing has been in the works for more than 12 years. NASA selected the center as one of three museums in the U.S. to permanently display the three surviving shuttles that have flown in space.

Components of the two rocket motors flew on a combined 81 space shuttle flights and 32 static tests, dating back to STS-5 in 1982, the fifth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

The last use of a component was for STS-133, the last flight of Discovery.

Two massive “Solid Rocket Motors” from Space Shuttle Endeavor will pass through the Victor Valley and the Cajon Pass on their way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
Two massive “Solid Rocket Motors” from Space Shuttle Endeavor will pass through the Victor Valley and the Cajon Pass on their way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Rocket’s route, timeline

Tuesday, Oct. 10:

  • 9 a.m.: Depart Mojave Air and Space Port and exit south on Airport Boulevard.

  • Left on Mojave-Barstow Highway.

  • Merge onto and continue eastbound on State Route 58.

  • Exit No. 06 onto southbound Hwy. 395.

  • Travel through Adelanto, Victorville and Hesperia.

  • Merge from Hwy. 395 onto southbound Interstate 15 in Hesperia.

  • South on I-15 through the Cajon Pass.

  • Exit No. 115 onto westbound Interstate 210.

  • Merge onto southbound Interstate 605.

  • Stop at 12 p.m. on I-605.

Two massive “Solid Rocket Motors” from Space Shuttle Endeavor will pass through the Victor Valley and the Cajon Pass on Tuesday on their way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
Two massive “Solid Rocket Motors” from Space Shuttle Endeavor will pass through the Victor Valley and the Cajon Pass on Tuesday on their way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Wednesday, Oct. 11

  • 3 a.m. :Continue onto southbound I-605.

  • Merge onto westbound Interstate 105.

  • Merge onto northbound Interstate 110.

  • Continue onto northbound I-110.

  • 5 a.m.: Exit No. 18A onto eastbound Gage Avenue.

  • Right onto eastbound Gage Avenue.

  • Left onto northbound Broadway.

  • Left onto westbound Slauson Avenue.

  • Right onto Figueroa Street northbound.

  • 7:30 a.m: Straight on northbound Figueroa from 43rd Place to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

  • 8 a.m.: Pause at Figueroa Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

  • 8:45 a.m.: Continue to the ceremonial ‘finish line’ at Figueroa Street and 39th Street.

  • 9 a.m.: Left onto State Drive westbound. End at California Science Center.

Los Angeles viewing

The public is invited to Figueroa Street from 43rd Place to 39th Street to join in the celebration and watch the SRMs arrive until 9 a.m., science center officials said.

This will be the best opportunity for the public to see any stage of the "Go for Stack" process in person, due to safety precautions and space constraints around the Samuel Oschin construction site.

The California Science Center will open an hour early at 9 a.m. on Oct. 11 as part of the rocket motors arrival celebration.

Guests may view Endeavour in the Samuel Oschin Display Pavilion, as well as flown capsules from NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Experts in aerospace subjects will be on hand to answer visitors' questions and lead educational demonstrations.

An October 2012 photo shows Space Shuttle Endeavour's journey as it traveled from Los Angeles International Airport across the city to the California Science Center for display.
An October 2012 photo shows Space Shuttle Endeavour's journey as it traveled from Los Angeles International Airport across the city to the California Science Center for display.

Endeavour’s home

The roughly six-month process to stand up the space shuttle Endeavour began in July with the installation of the solid rocket booster aft skirts.

The rockets and their forward assemblies will then be stacked to form the solid rocket boosters. This will be followed by the move and lift of the external tank, ET-94, and then Endeavour will make its final move across Exposition Park to be lifted by cranes and mated with its already standing components.

Once finished, the complete space shuttle stack will be in its vertical configuration, towering 200 feet high.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center building will then be completed around the full stack before receiving more than 100 other aviation and aerospace exhibits.

The California Science Center Foundation is actively working to complete this project with $50 million still needed to raise to its $400 million goal.

In October 2012, Space Shuttle Endeavour traveled from Los Angeles International Airport across the city to the California Science Center for display.

The public has until Dec. 31 to see Endeavour for several years until the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens to the public.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Space shuttle's massive rocket motors to pass through the Victor Valley