Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SHUTTLE NEWS
US space shuttle lands in LA after final flight
by Staff Writers
Los Angeles (AFP) Sept 21, 2012


The US space shuttle Endeavour took its final flight Friday, making a spectacular series of flypasts over California before landing in Los Angeles where it will retire near its birthplace.

Riding piggyback on a specially fitted Boeing 747, the shuttle flew over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge before heading south to take in the Hollywood sign and Disneyland, later landing at LA international airport (LAX).

"It's so cool, and so sad," said Todd Unger, 28, among thousands who camped out from the early hours at the Griffith Observatory overlooking the city and the nearby iconic hilltop Tinseltown sign.

"It's the end of an era. But it shows what America can do, we can be really proud," he added, waving a Stars and Stripes flag as the shuttle banked over the Hollywood Hills.

Cars were parked bumper-to-bumper up the winding roads leading up to the observatory, as Angelenos turned out en masse in several parts of the city to witness Endeavour's final flight.

The shuttle had spent the night at Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles, the last leg after a two-day trip across the country from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Before reaching the West Coast, it flew over Tucson, Arizona to honor former lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a horrific shooting last year and whose astronaut husband Mark Kelly commanded Endeavour's final mission.

"It was pretty spectacular... The people of Tucson got an incredible view of this remarkable machine," Kelly told CNN, adding: "It's really a testament to American ingenuity."

After arriving Friday afternoon, the shuttle will spend a few weeks at a United Airlines hangar at LAX, before being transferred to the California Science Center, where it will go on display on October 30.

Endeavour, which flew more than 115 million miles (185 million kilometers) in its two-decade career, completed its final mission last year.

After the space agency NASA brought an end to the 30-year shuttle program last year, major US cities battled for the right to house one of the craft.

Enterprise, the prototype that never flew into space, is now on permanent display on the runway of the Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York.

The Kennedy Space Center will keep Atlantis, and Discovery is on display at a museum outside Washington.

Two other shuttles were destroyed in flight. Challenger disintegrated shortly after liftoff in 1986 and Columbia broke apart on re-entry to Earth in 2003. Both disasters killed everyone on board.

Endeavour's trip to Los Angeles is a homecoming of sorts. It was built in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles, as a replacement for Challenger.

Its last, 12-mile road trip to its final destination is scheduled to take two days, starting on October 12.

That operation is not without controversy: locals have protested because some 400 trees are being cut down along the route, and power lines and other obstacles reconfigured, to make way for the giant winged space craft.

The California Science Center has promised to replant four times as many trees as are removed.

"Before the Endeavour lands at its final destination, there's one more leg on its amazing journey," LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday.

"In less than a month, we'll have a chance to see a site as impressive as today's flyover -- the Endeavour traveling through our streets and hundreds of thousands of people cheer it on."

.


Related Links
Shuttle at NASA
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SHUTTLE NEWS
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and Space Shuttle Endeavour Land in Houston
Houston TX (SPX) Sep 20, 2012
NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with space shuttle Endeavour mounted on top landed at Houston's Ellington Field at 10:40 a.m. CDT. Public viewing at Ellington has been extended to 9 p.m. CDT, since the aircraft will remain in Houston for one night rather than two. The SCA and Endeavour, making the final ferry flight of NASA's Space Shuttle Program, are scheduled to land at Los Angele ... read more


SHUTTLE NEWS
Protection for Moon, Mars astronauts eyed

Russia to start research base on the Moon

Remains of astronaut legend Neil Armstrong buried at sea

Memorial service honors 'man on the moon' Armstrong

SHUTTLE NEWS
NASA-JPL director Charles Elachi talks about latest Mars mission

NASA Mars Rover Targets Unusual Rock En Route to First Destination

Dark Bands Run Through Light Layers

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Looks at Ground Ahead, Moons Above

SHUTTLE NEWS
B612 Wins Funding Support From Prominent Business Leadersy

Cavenauts return to Earth

Brazil unveils tax incentives to boost tech innovation

New Technology Being Stymied by Copyright Law

SHUTTLE NEWS
Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

China Focus: Timeline for China's space research revealed

China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back

China unveils ambitious space projects

SHUTTLE NEWS
Crew Members Prepare for Departure

ISS Crew Lands Safely in Kazakhstan

ISS Crew Enjoys Light Duty Day

Europe's ATV-3 Spacecraft to Readjust Space Station's Orbit

SHUTTLE NEWS
Processing is underway with the next Automated Transfer Vehicle to be orbited by Arianespace

Fueling underway with the Galileo satellites for next Soyuz launch from French Guiana

SpaceX, NASA Target Oct. 7 Launch For Resupply Mission To Space Station

Failure Review Oversight Board Establishes Proton Return to Flight Schedule

SHUTTLE NEWS
Meteors Might Add Methane to Exoplanet Atmospheres

Two 'hot Jupiters' found in star cluster: NASA

Planets Can Form in the Galactic Center

Birth of a planet

SHUTTLE NEWS
'5,000 police' quell Foxconn brawl: state media

Apple seeks more damages in wake of win against Samsung

ORNL research uncovers path to defect-free thin films

Humans were already recycling 13,000 years ago




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement