The external tank will then be attached to components that were installed in recent months - the twin solid rocket boosters, which began to be installed in a months-long process that started over the summer. The other crane will then lift the tank into its final position. Then, the external tank will be slowly turned upright to a vertical orientation, and one of the cranes will be disconnected. Two cranes will be used initially to lift up the external tank from its horizontal position. The orange external tank will be attached to the twin solid rocket boosters, already installed, at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center construction site at the California Science Center. Assuming that holds into early January, we'll try taking advantage of that six-hour window to lift the tank and get it in to the pit,' said Dennis Jenkins, project director for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. 'The trend, at least in December, was for the winds to die down about 10 p.m. Because the move is taking place outdoors, any significant winds could lead to delays in the big move, and the museum doesn't want a very big thing swinging off a crane in significant winds. 11 and into the next morning, the external tank is to be lifted, starting sometime after 10 p.m. The journey will take about two hours, past the science center and the Exposition Park Rose Garden. 10, when the it will be moved by self-propelled modular transporters - similar to the ones used to move Endeavour through city streets in 2012 - down State Drive to the new museum wing's construction site. The prelude to the external tank's big lift is scheduled for Jan. 'Show time!' said Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center. The cranes that will lift the spacecraft are quite tall - the tallest of which will be about the height of City Hall. The operation will be a sight to see, and the key moments of the lift of the external tank and Endeavour will be streamed online by the California Science Center. Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center, at the groundbreaking of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in 2022.

ENDEAVOUR new space shuttle