Shuttle Gantry Installation — California Science Center скачать в хорошем качестве

Shuttle Gantry Installation — California Science Center

A gantry is an iconic structure on a space shuttle launch pad that provided various fluid, gas, and electrical connections to the shuttle stack. It had one fully enclosed elevator and several work platforms. Our gantry in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is going to be a little different. Instead of providing connections or having lots of work platforms, it will have two sleek glass elevators that will take you to three platforms where you can experience different views of the stack. At the second level, you’ll see Endeavour's payload bay with one payload bay door open. At the fourth level, you'll look down into the payload bay and view the SPACEHAB laboratory installed, and also see inside the flight deck windows. The fifth level platform is cantilevered out over Endeavour and has a glass floor, so you’ll have a dramatic perspective of the shuttle stack from above. The views will be amazing! We are thrilled to bring this up-close experience with Endeavour to guests of the Science Center, providing access to vantage points previously granted only to astronauts and others working on launches when the space shuttle program was active. The three pieces of our gantry were lifted into place and assembled near the fully completed shuttle stack between early April and mid-May 2024. The gantry is made of high-strength steel and is 158 feet tall. That’s 4 feet taller than external tank ET-94. It weighs about 374,000 pounds (minus the elevators and glass floor). You can currently see our gantry from neighboring streets and the upper level of our parking structure—at least until the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center building’s rooftop is complete.