Space shuttle Endeavour is coming back to Southern California, where it was developed and built, for permanent display at the California Science Center.

Located just south of downtown Los Angeles, the Science Center already features some of the most impressive flying machines ever dreamed up, including Lockheed Corp.’s A-12, which was a precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, and Lockheed’s supersonic F-104 Starfighter interceptor aircraft.

Now comes the Endeavour.

Richard Simon over at L.A. Now writes:

NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. made the announcement at a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch.

Officials at the California Science Center in Exposition Park got a shuttle-like blast from beating out more than a dozen other cities for the right to house the orbiter, which will enhance the museum's prestige and could provide an economic boost for the city.

Now, the museum must pay $28.8 million to bring the Endeavour to Los Angeles and overcome the logistical challenges of transporting the craft, with its 78-foot wingspan, to a city famous for its traffic problems.

At the conclusion of the Apollo moon landings of the 1970s, NASA embarked on the shuttle program. The program was an enormous economic driver in the Southland, pouring in billions of dollars to aerospace companies. The fleet was built by Rockwell International at its Palmdale facility. The shuttles' massive rocket engines were built by Rocketdyne in Canoga Park.

Endeavour was the final shuttle built. It was handed over to NASA in 1991 to replace the ill-fated Challenger, which was destroyed shortly after launch in 1986.

Endeavour has flown 24 missions. Its final mission is slated for April 29.

The Science Center's getting Endeavour “reflects the work and contributions of the people who have worked on it over the years here in Southern California,” said Ken Phillips, curator for aerospace science at the center. “It’s truly a gift to the city.”

RELATED:

Space shuttle Endeavour could land in Los Angeles by year’s end

Space shuttle Endeavour coming to California Science Center, permanently

NASA gives away pieces of space shuttle to schools

NASA history for sale at the Astronaut Store

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photos: At top, space shuttle Endeavour, which is scheduled to launch April 29 for its 25th and final mission. Credit: Roberto Gonzalez / Getty Images. At lower right, the A-12 in front of the Science Center at Exposition Park. Credit: California Science Center

For the first time in its history, the U.S. Navy fired a laser ray gun mounted on a warship, zapping -- and setting fire to -- an empty motorboat as it bobbed in the Pacific Ocean.

The test demonstration, which took place off the Southern California coast near San Nicholas Island, could mark a new era in Naval weaponry, officials said.

“This is very important to the Navy’s future weapon systems,” said Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of the Office of Naval Research. “By turning energy into a weapon, we become more efficient and more effective.”

Built by Northrop Grumman Corp. in Redondo Beach, the laser system could be used to blast apart incoming cruise missiles, zap enemy drones out of the sky or possibly even shoot down ballistic missiles one day, Carr said.

“In the distant future, I can envision a day when this technology is outfitted on cruisers and destroyers,” he said.

The laser’s power can be also “scaled down,” offering the Navy a non-lethal alternative to ward off threats such as pirates, terrorists and smugglers, Carr said.

In the test, which took place last week, the laser gun was mounted to the deck of the retired Naval destroyer Paul Foster and fired on a small target vessel.

A video of the test, released by the Office of Naval Research, shows a spark on one of the boat’s motors as it bobs in the ocean and, within seconds, is engulfed in flames. It was a milestone, because all previous tests of the laser were on firm ground, Carr said.

The video does not show the laser or how far it was from the target because of security concerns, Carr said. But he said the laser beam was “baseball-sized” and the distance could be measured in “miles, not yards.”

Carr indicated that the technology was still years away from being used in combat.

For years, technical challenges have plagued scientists’ weapon development of a solid-state laser. Northrop has worked to develop the laser system at its Space Park campus in Redondo Beach under a $98-million contract that it won in July 2009.

The campus is also the site where Northrop engineers have worked on the Airborne Laser Test Bed, a missile defense program that involves a massive laser gun outfitted on a heavily modified Boeing 747. It has taken nearly 15 years and at least $4 billion to develop the chemical laser technology.

Space Park was built during the height of the Cold War and has been the development site of some of the nation's most complex weapon systems, including the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile. Scientists there took up laser research in the 1960s and became the first laboratory to develop a weapons-grade chemical laser.

RELATED:

Airborne laser shoots down missile in test, Pentagon says

Test fails for airborne laser designed to shoot down missiles

Navy launches new catapult for aircraft carriers

-- W.J. Hennigan

twitter.com/wjhenn

Photo: A motorboat set on fire using a solid-state, high-energy laser mounted on the deck of the Navy's self-defense test ship. Credit: Northrop Grumman and U.S. Navy

First, man landed on the moon. The next step might be mining it for minerals.

At least, that’s the business plan for Moon Express Inc., or MoonEx, a Silicon Valley start-up building robotic rovers capable of scouring the lunar surface for precious metals and rare metallic elements. The company joins a growing group of entrepreneurs in the private space race.

The private company is building its hardware alongside scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center northwest of San Jose. It was co-founded by Naveen Jain, who made a fortune off his previous start-up InfoSpace Inc.; Barney Pell, the head architect behind Microsoft Corp.'s Bing Internet search engine; and Robert Richards, a commercial space entrepreneur.

From my article in Friday’s Times:

MoonEx's machines are designed to look for materials that are scarce on Earth but found in everything from a Toyota Prius car battery to guidance systems on cruise missiles.

While there's no guarantee the moon is flush with these materials, MoonEx officials think it may be a "gold mine" of so-called rare earth elements.

"From an entrepreneur's perspective, the moon has never truly been explored," said Naveen Jain, chairman and company co-founder. "We think it could hold resources that benefit Earth and all humanity."

Aside from its founders' personal wealth and other outside investments, MoonEx has received a NASA contract that could be worth up to $10 million.

The company is among several teams hoping to someday win the Google Lunar X Prize competition, a $30-million race to the moon in which a privately funded team must successfully place a robot on the moon's surface and have it explore at least 1/3 of a mile. It also must transmit high definition video and images back to Earth before 2016.

In the meantime, MoonEx is on firm financial footing, Jain said, notable because a moon launch would require massive investment. MoonEx hasn't decided which rocket or company will launch its hardware quite yet, but one of the contenders is Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, Jain said.

"MoonEx should be ready to land on the lunar surface by 2013," Jain said in the article. "It's our goal to be the first company there and stay there."

RELATED:

SpaceX to make giant leap with Falcon Heavy

SpaceX Dragon capsule lifts off, reaches orbit

Falcon 9 rocket makes landmark flight

-- W.J. Hennigan

twitter.com/wjhenn

Images: From top, MoonEx logo and photo of company co-founder Naveen Jain. Credit: MoonEx.

Space Exploration Technologies, more commonly known as SpaceX, announced on Tuesday the Falcon Heavy: a towering, 22-story rocket that will be able to carry heavier payloads and bring launch costs down.

The Falcon Heavy will be built on a similar platform to that of the Hawthorne company's Falcon 9 rocket. It will also be capable of lifting twice as heavy a payload as the next-largest rocket.

Times reporter W.J. Hennigan broke the news this morning, ahead of the company's formal announcement of the Falcon Heavy in Washington on Tuesday. From Hennigan's report:

"We're embarking on something that's unprecedented in the space industry," Elon Musk, the company's chief executive, told The Times. "This is territory that has only belonged to the U.S. government — with its tens of billions of dollars."

Musk's company is building the 227-foot-tall Falcon Heavy even though there are no guarantees that the military or NASA will step forward to pay for the rocket to lift its payloads — or even astronauts — into space someday.

SpaceX hopes to launch it in a demonstration flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara, at the end of next year.

NASA and other government agencies haven't committed to buying any Falcon Heavy rockets. But SpaceX is developing the launcher with the hope that customers will come.

And they just might. The lower launch costs are a big selling point as federal funds are hard to come by. As Hennigan noted in his report:

NASA has invested $298 million in seed money to help SpaceX develop and build its smaller, nine-engine Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon space capsule. The space agency has awarded the company a $1.6-billion contract to have SpaceX's Dragon transport cargo to the space station — with trips possibly starting later this year.

SpaceX also released Tuesday an animated video of the Falcon Heavy, which can be seen below.

To read Hennigan's full report on the Falcon Heavy, click here.

RELATED:

SpaceX to make giant leap with Falcon Heavy

SpaceX Dragon capsule lifts off, reaches orbit

SpaceX receives FAA certification for Dragon spacecraft

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

The Air Force is hoping to launch its X-37B space plane aboard an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Saturday, after bad weather pushed back a scheduled launch Friday.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, a small robotic spacecraft that looks like a miniature version of the space shuttle, is to be launched on the 19-story rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. The launch will be webcast here and on the company’s website beginning at 2:26 p.m.

The launch is scheduled to take place at 2:46 p.m.

It is the second launch of an X-37B space plane, which was developed and built in Southern California. The first X-37B was launched from Cape Canaveral last April, and 224 days later, it landed on its own -- fully automated -- on a 15,000-foot-long airstrip at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara.

An in-depth story about the X-37B ran in Friday's issue of The Times. Read it here.

-- W.J. Hennigan

[Updated at 3:10 p.m.: The Atlas V carrying the X-37B space plane blasted off from Cape Canaveral about 2:46 p.m. PST. About 20 minutes later, ULA issued a statement that said the launch was successful.]

A small robotic spacecraft that looks like a miniature version of the space shuttle is set to launch Friday from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The spacecraft, dubbed the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, will be sent up on top of an Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. The launch is scheduled to be webcast beginning at 12:30 p.m. PST here and on the company’s website.

The actual launch is slated to take place at 12:50 p.m.

It is the second launch of the vehicle, which was developed and built in Southern California. The first X-37B was launched from Cape Canaveral last April, and 224 days later, it landed on its own -- fully automated -- on a 15,000-foot-long airstrip at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara.

A more in-depth story ran in Friday's Times. Read it here.

-- W.J. Hennigan

[Updated at 12:59 p.m.: According to United Launch Alliance spokesman Mike Rein: "We missed our first launch window due to high ground winds and cumulus clouds. We will now attempt a launch at 2:27 p.m. PST. No issues with the rocket, just weather." Next webcast will start at 2:17 p.m.]

[Updated at 2:34 p.m.: According to United Launch Alliance spokesman Mike Rein: "The launch attempt of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V with the Air Force's second Orbital Test Vehicle was scrubbed today for weather. Thick cumulus clouds, which could produce triggered lightning, were within 10 miles of Space Launch Complex-41 during the scheduled launch windows. This is a launch criteria violation.

The Atlas V vehicle and OTV-2 are safe and secure at this time. The launch is rescheduled for Saturday, March 5 at 1:09 p.m. PST."]

A nine-story rocket carrying an Earth-observation satellite dubbed Glory failed to reach orbit and likely fell into the South Pacific Ocean following its launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, north of Santa Barbara.

In a statement, NASA said that the protective shell perched atop the rocket did not separate and the satellite did not enter orbit, which should have occurred about three minutes after the launch.

NASA said the entire cost of the mission was $424 million.

It is the second consecutive time that NASA has encountered the problem with the rocket, the Taurus XL, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. The space agency’s previous launch attempt on Feb. 24, 2009, of an Earth science spacecraft, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, also failed to reach orbit when the fairing did not separate.

“NASA has begun the process of creating a Mishap Investigation Board to evaluate the cause of the failure,” NASA said. “The launch proceeded as planned from its liftoff at 2:09 a.m. PST through the ignition of the Taurus XL's second stage.”

The fairing failure occurred during the second stage engine burn. The exact location of the spacecraft is not yet known.

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: The Taurus the XL rocket and NASA's encapsulated Glory spacecraft await an early morning launch on the pad at Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday. Credit: NASA / Randy Beaudoin / Vandenberg Air Force Base

If you enjoyed listening to the rock stylings of Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" while F-14 fighter jets zipped through the air during "Top Gun," you might like this.

Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. posted a music video of the first flight of its bat-winged robotic jet, dubbed the X-47B. Yes, that's right, a music video -- chock-full of jump cuts and guitar licks.

The flight, which took place earlier this month at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, was a significant milestone for the program. In the 29-minute test flight, the drone climbed to 5,000 feet.

The X-47B is being developed to take off from an aircraft carrier, drop a bomb on an enemy target and then land back on a carrier, controlled entirely by a computer. It's a big step up in technology because current combat drones, such as the Predator and Reaper, are controlled remotely by a human pilot.

But it's still years down the line before the X-47B will be carrier ready. In the meantime, we have the video.

RELATED:

Northrop's X-47B robotic jet makes first flight from Edwards Air Force Base

New generation of unmanned spy planes is being tested

Nation's first drone test pilot trainee has the right-click stuff

-- W.J. Hennigan

Westlake Village-based Row 44 Inc., an in-flight broadband Internet provider for airlines, said that it has brought aboard longtime Southwest Airlines senior manager Doug Murri as a technology director to work with carriers.

Murri will be working with airlines on the logistics of outfitting Row 44’s Wi-Fi technology on commercial jets. It was a role that he played with Southwest and its decision to wire its fleet of more than 540 planes with Row 44’s in-flight broadband system.

Murri was not a decision-maker in that process, rather he helped integrate the technology on the planes, Southwest said.

"As I worked with the Row 44 team from within Southwest on the passenger Wi-Fi initiative, I became convinced that this company’s in-flight broadband platform is the most innovative and robust on the market," Murri said in a statement. "I am eager to help push Row 44’s technology into new uses for our airline customers around the world."

Row 44 hopes Murri can build on business connections that he made during his 16-year tenure designing, leading and implementing several key technology initiatives at Southwest.

One of those intiatitives, called the onboard performance computer, provided the company more accurate readings on aircraft performance. Southwest said the technology was "analogous to the transition from long-hand multiplication and division to a calculator."

Row 44, named after the last row on a DC-10 commercial jet, uses a network of telecommunications satellites belonging to Hughes Network Systems. By tapping into Hughes' network, Row 44 has the potential to provide worldwide Internet access.

The company has grown to about 40 people spread across offices in Westlake Village, Las Vegas and Lombard, Ill.

Row 44 made another key hire last year when former Vegas.com Chief Executive Howard Lefkowitz joined the company as chief commercial officer.

Last year, Row 44 landed the contract with Southwest. The company said it has already finished work on about 60 jetliners and plans to have the full fleet wired by 2012.

RELATED:

Row 44 strikes Wi-Fi deal with Southwest Airlines

Row 44 hires former Vegas.com chief executive

In-flight Internet provider Row 44 raises $37 million for international expansion

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: Row 44 Chief Executive John Guidon, left, and President Gregg Fialcowitz on the wings of the company's 1950 Grumman Albatross Seaplane that it uses for equipment testing. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

A 23-story Delta IV Heavy rocket, the tallest ever to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, is set to blast off at 1:10 p.m Pacific time.

[Updated at 1:45 p.m.: Thursday's launch appeared to go off without a hitch. But about 10 minutes after blastoff the live feed went black -- likely due to the secret nature of the mission.

A United Launch Alliance spokesman said in a statement: "It was a picture perfect launch of the largest rocket to ever from the west coast of the U.S. It just doesn’t get any better!"]

The giant rocket will lift off from the base’s Space Launch Complex 6, known on base as “Slick Six.” The launch pad was built in the 1960s and later intended to accommodate space shuttle launches.

According to analysts, the 235-foot rocket will be carrying a top-secret spy satellite for the National Reconaissance Office -- the covert federal umbrella agency that operates spy satellites.

The Delta IV Heavy is built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. The rocket’s three massive engines were built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park.

The rocket was initially set to blast off at 1:08 p.m., but United Launch announced a two-minute delay "to avoid an object in space that could have been in the path of the rocket." 

Watch the launch live above or at the rocket maker's website when the final countdown starts at 12:43 p.m. Pacific time.

RELATED:

SpaceX Dragon capsule lifts off, reaches orbit [Updated]

Virgin Galactic eyes orbital trips for fare-paying passengers

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: The Delta IV Heavy rocket is raised to a vertical position for launch during preparations at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Credit: United Launch Alliance