Region Report By Seth Skydel
Lift Off in LA
Bragg Companies and Liebherr Cranes Work to Launch Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center
It was T-minus 25 years when the California Science Center started the countdown on a three-phase master plan, a mission that would transform the state’ s premier public institution for science learning by building hands-on learning galleries and permanent exhibitions. Phase III of the plan, now nearing completion, is the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which will dramatically expand the footprint and impact of the California Science Center by adding 200,000 square feet of space for exhibits, events and educational programs.
The Samuel Oschin Air and Space
Center will also serve as a permanent home for the space shuttle Endeavour, the final operational shuttle built by NASA that flew 25 missions between 1992 and 2011. The 122-foot long orbiter, which weighs 178,000 pounds and has a wingspan of 78 feet, is set to become the centerpiece of a 20-story area at the new facility. There, the retired orbiter will be on display mated to solid rocket boosters, a solid rocket motor, a forward assembly and a 154-foot external fuel tank, creating the world’ s only authentic space shuttle system displayed in launch configuration.
Planning, Engineering and Lifting
On the ground, that mission required planning, engineering and lifting capabilities to safely move and assemble what’ s referred to as a space shuttle stack. Called on to complete the task were Bragg Companies and multiple Liebherr cranes. It took over 6,000-man hours, including two years of pre-construction engineering and lift planning, and a six-month process to get the unique job done.
Bragg used several Liebherr mobile and crawler cranes for a variety of lifts during the space shuttle project. A Liebherr LR 1750 / 2
24 CRANE HOT LINE ® June 2024 • www. cranehotline. com