LOS ANGELES — The California Science Center in Los Angeles will reveal the vertical launch-position display of space shuttle Endeavour at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center on November 13, 2026. The 184-foot-tall stack comprises the orbiter Endeavour, an external tank, and twin solid rocket boosters arranged in a vertical launch position. The stack was assembled without using a NASA facility designed for that purpose.

Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, said, "It has been more than 30 years since we first dreamed of putting a shuttle in the launch position in our air and space center, and it is better than we ever thought it was going to be." Dennis Jenkins, project director for the center and a former space shuttle engineer, said, "I was very uncertain if it would ever happen when we first looked at the proposal, because I think—and the science center admits this—they really had no idea what was involved in trying to make a vertical display of a space shuttle stack." Jenkins added, "Everybody that has walked into that room just stops, their mouth opens and their eyes open wide, and as often as not, the words 'oh shit' come out of their mouths, and you know it's truly one-of-a-kind."

Construction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center took four years. The center includes the Korean Air Aviation Gallery and the Kent Kresa Space Gallery, which will showcase more than 25 aircraft as well as historical and modern spacecraft. Over the past year, components installed in the building have included a segment of a walkthrough space shuttle solid rocket booster, a Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4 aircraft, and a Rocket Lab Electron booster. In May, the 70-foot forward section of a Korean Air Boeing 747-400 aircraft fuselage was rolled into the building.

Visitors will be able to view Endeavour from multiple levels of the building. Some guests can board a glass elevator to ascend a gantry positioned beside the shuttle; the top level of this gantry includes a transparent walkway. The viewing experience will include seeing equipment arranged as it would have been for a mission to the International Space Station through an open payload bay door. Before seeing the display, visitors will watch a video in a theater that provides a history of the space shuttle program and Endeavour, concluding with footage of Endeavour's final launch.

Lynda Oschin directed her family foundation to make the primary donation for the new air and space center to honor her husband's legacy. Endeavour was first displayed in a horizontal position in 2012.