News

Shannon Dann, towing Gulfmaster 1, arrived at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal in San Diego this morning at 0300 to a great deal more attention than expected. At 19:15 on Thursday, Shannon Dann rescued four crewmembers from Maximus, a sport fisherman operating between Puerto Vallarta and San Diego. All are safe, although Maximus was lost.

We need to remove several of the Panama Canal I bits and bollards from Gulfmaster, in addition to instilling the hinges for remaps needed to unload ET-94 at Marina del Rey. All of this work is taking place in San Diego. We expect to depart early Tuesday morning with a scheduled arrival.

ET-94 Status for May 15, 2016 Dennis Jenkins, Project Director, Phase III

We had Gulfmaster I and Shannon Dann wait in the Pacific Anchorage while we made some final upgrades to the barge for the journey up the west coast. It is the last we will see of her until mid-May. #ETComesHome

ET-94 Status for April 26, 2016 Dennis Jenkins, Project Director, Phase III

Unlike the Atlantic side, which has a three-step lock, the Pacific side (traveling west) has a single-step lock (Pedro Miguel) between Gamboa and Mirafloores Lake, and then a two-step lock between Miraflores Lake and the Pacific. So after transiting Pedro Miguel Lock, we transited Miraflores Locks. It was still raining (pouring).

Transited from Gamboa to the Pacific today. First landmark was the Puente Centenary bridge followed by the first Pacific lock, Pedro Miguel. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative with a lot of haze and rain.

ET-94 Status for April 25, 2016 Dennis Jenkins, Project Director, Phase III

Transited the Gatun Locks today. This is a set of three locks that separates the Atlantic (Caribbean) from Lake Gatun. Passage was made with Shannon Dann pulling and a canal-provided assist tug (Cerra Jefe) pushing. We created quite a stir on the Canal, with a lot of employees coming out for selfies or group photos. Probably provided an interesting transit for the various container ships heading the other way. We moored in Gamboa Rain Forest and will continue through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks tomorrow (Tuesday) toward the Pacific.

ET-94 Status for April 25, 2016 Dennis Jenkins, Project Director, Phase III

The only flight-qualified External Tank in existence, ET-94, is on its way from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The donation of this never-used artifact from NASA allows the Science Center to fulfill its vision of building a full stack for Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final display in the launch position in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Dennis Jenkins, Project Director, Phase III, is overseeing ET-94’s barge journey from Louisiana, through the Panama Canal, and on to California, and sending photos and dispatches from the field.

See More Photos of Endeavour’s Journey

This summer, volunteers have been meeting at the California Science Center several days a week to restore a Ranger spacecraft using parts from various unflown engineering models. The students, engineers, retirees and space enthusiasts (ages 18-80), are led by Bob Conover, the Assembly Manager on the Ranger Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 50 years ago. Together they are carefully sorting, cleaning, painting and assembling a replica of Ranger 7 that will be displayed in the new Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center. The team is also documenting the project; check out #buildranger on Twitter, student Kat Heiden’s website with history and interviews and photographer Curt Mason’s beautiful images.

The repopulation of Endeavour’s payload bay continued through October, as the California Science Center carefully installed flown artifacts and reproduction components to replicate the payload configuration of the orbiter’s 20th spaceflight, STS-118. Go For Payload activities concluded with the closing of the 60-foot-long doors – sealed until Endeavour is in her permanent vertical launch display in the new Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center. Until then, a few final photos of the shuttle opened wide.