Follow-Up: Newsom Talks Innovation Economy in Conversation With Science Center CEO; Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center Opens Nov. 13

LOS ANGELES, Los Angeles County, California — Governor Gavin Newsom joined California Science Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph for a conversation on California's innovation economy and aerospace legacy on the morning of October 28, during the first public preview of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at Exposition Park. The conversation was livestreamed on the Governor's official channel starting 9:30 a.m. PT and the replay, running about 11 minutes, is embedded in this story and in the replay section of GSM's live page.

In a statement issued the same day welcoming the preview, Newsom said California has always been a place of discovery — from the early pioneers of flight to the engineers, astronauts and scientists who shaped the space age — and that the new center reflects the state's enduring commitment to science, education and innovation, inspiring generations to come. He thanked everyone who worked to make the center a reality, including the philanthropic partners whose support helped complete it. First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom said the center will open its doors to millions of children and families free of charge and called it an investment in children's futures.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is a roughly 200,000-square-foot expansion that nearly doubles the California Science Center's exhibit space and opens to the public on November 13, 2026. Its centerpiece is the space shuttle Endeavour, displayed in a vertical launch configuration with its external tank ET-94 and twin solid rocket boosters — the world's only authentic, complete space-shuttle system shown in launch position. The center houses three multilevel galleries, including the Kent Kresa Space Gallery developed with Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with about 100 aerospace artifacts and 100 hands-on exhibits. General admission to the Science Center is free; reservations for the new center are strongly encouraged.

On the economic side, aerospace and defense is an “accelerate” sector in the Governor's California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, and the center's building was completed through a public-private partnership with investments from the Newsom administration and the Legislature, according to the Governor's office.

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: Frame from the official livestream by the Office of the Governor of California (@cagovernor), Oct. 28, 2026.

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