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Shuttle Endeavour Makes Journey to Final Home

By KSEE News
October 12, 2012 Updated Oct 12, 2012 at 1:31 PM PDT

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is making its last journey. A painstaking trip through the streets of Los Angeles that may take two days.

The shuttle is making a pit stop near a mall here in LA, it has traveled about 3 miles. This entire transport is a huge undertaking, the city had to cut down 400 trees and remove 200 street lights, all as part of Endeavour's final mission.

The shuttle endeavor departed LAX on its two-hundred-thousand pound transport vehicle and began rolling around 2 am.

"It has 80 wheels, each wheel can move independently but they are all computer controlled, " said Jeffrey Rudolph the president of the California Science Center.

Spectators lined the streets for a chance to witness history.

Said Matt Cordner, "I've been looking at the shuttle since i was real young 8 or 9 started drawing the thing thought i'd be an astronaut someday it's and american dream , it's an american icon , it's an american hero.

After 25 missions, millions of miles in space, Space Shuttle Endeavour will soon call the California Science Center home. Captain Mark Kelly served as commander of Endeavour's final space mission and says fans will get an extra treat when visiting the shuttle.

"They're gonna try to display it in the vertical with an external take and solid rocket boosters, like its on the launch pad...It will be pretty exciting," said Kelly.

But first Endeavour must make the painstaking 12 mile journey from LAX to the Science Center near downtown L.A. dubbed mission 26. With top speeds of just 2 miles an hour, the shuttle will be just inches away from buildings at some points along the route. Crews also installed steel reinforcements along parts of the streets to accommodate the 78 foot wide, 170-thousand pound spacecraft.

An historic move and a homecoming for Endeavor which was built in southern California and will be the only shuttle displayed on the west coast.

The estimated coast to coast shipping and handling costs is $28 million, to be paid for by the California Science Center. The exhibit opens on October 30th.

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