Solid Rocket

More than 1 million people have visited the California Science Center since space shuttle Endeavour made its debut just over four months ago, far surpassing officials' expectations for the Exposition Park museum. Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph initially guessed about 2 million people would see the retired orbiter in its first year at the free museum, which averages about 1.6 million visitors per year. Now, he estimates at least 2.5 million people will pass through its turnstiles - a record.

The California Science Center has won a new companion exhibit to the space shuttle Endeavour: the shuttle's external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The tank –- the orange cylindrical structure affixed to the shuttle's belly at launch –- and twin solid rocket boosters had been displayed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the shuttle exhibit is assembled next year, it will be a challenge to ship the external tank from Florida. It is typically moved by barge, meaning it might have to be taken through the Panama Canal, said Science Center President Jeffrey N. Rudolph.

The scientific services and systems group of Wyle Laboratories, El Segundo, said it received $8.5 million in initial funding from United Technologies Corp.'s Chemical Systems division to perform static test firings of Titan 34-D solid-rocket motors.

A piece of solid rocket fuel exploded prematurely as workers at a test site were attaching an electric blasting cap to it Tuesday, killing one man and burning a second, authorities said. The two employees of the Assn. of American Railroads were testing the fuel to see what precautions should be taken during shipping.

NASA told a presidential commission today that "no concerns were expressed" about solid rocket booster seals before the launch of the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger last month, despite erosion on earlier flights of some rings used to join sections of the rockets.

A freight train carrying segments of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters derailed near Myrtlewood after a recently repaired trestle collapsed over boggy ground, authorities said. Six people on board were injured, one critically. NASA said it had not been determined whether the shuttle equipment was damaged. But space agency spokesman Allard Beutel said the accident should not delay any shuttle launches this year.