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"Suffice it to say that the building and Endeavour will be standing when L.A. Now, as the California Science Center takes the first steps to stack the vehicle with a pair of twin solid rocket boosters and an external fuel tank for a vertical, launchpad-like permanent exhibit inside the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, the question has only increased in magnitude. All rights reserved.Even before it opened more than a decade ago, the exhibit of NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles has elicited one question perhaps more than any other: Can it survive an earthquake?Īnd to think, that was while the winged orbiter was displayed near the ground in its horizontal, landing configuration. See for continuing coverage of the delivery and display of NASA's retired space shuttles.įollow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman robertpearlman.
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Visitors to the website can share the content, subscribe to email alerts and use Twitter to the spread word about the Toyota Tundra's role in Endeavour's delivery.įor the first 10,000 "re-tweets" sent through the website, Toyota will donate $50 to the California Science Center to support building the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, the permanent home for the space shuttle Endeavour. To further support the move, Toyota developed a website to provide behind the scenes videos, photos, activities for children, and details about the Tundra Endeavour project. The Tundra that was used to tow Endeavour Friday will replace the Tundra now on exhibit and will be on display after the shuttle's pavilion opens on Oct. Toyota currently has a Tundra truck on display at the science center in an exhibit demonstrating the physics of leverage. Toyota's participation towing the space shuttle was in support of an existing partnership between Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., and the California Science Center to provide support the education of the public through exhibits and programs. Schematic showing space shuttle Endeavour being towed by the Toyota Tundra truck for the California Science Center. Toyota said the truck was not modified or enhanced in any way to accomplish the tow. To better distribute the space shuttle's weight and to meet with road restrictions, Endeavour's custom transport was moved out and wheeled dollies took the place of the four vehicles.Ī silver Toyota Tundra CrewMax half-ton pickup provided the horsepower to tug the orbiter over the freeway. Though Toyota's cameras were rolling, the tow was more than just an excuse to shoot an advertisement. "It's weird, very, very weird, but also really, really cool," he said. "If you told me one day that Endeavour would be sitting here next to Randy's Donuts, I'd say you were crazy, but here she is." "I do not know how many times I have drove through this intersection going back and forth to LAX," Reisman told before the tow. Seated to McBride's right was astronaut Garrett Reisman, who launched aboard Endeavour for his first spaceflight in 2008. Seated behind the 2012 Tundra's steering wheel was Matt McBride, a precision driver whose credits include Toyota commercials as well as Hollywood blockbusters, such as last year's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon." bridge in a scene made for TV? A professional stuntman and an astronaut, of course! Who do you recruit to drive a space shuttle across an L.A.
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Space shuttle Endeavour is seen behind Randy's Donuts, an L.A.