The Endeavour was an important part of building the International Space Station, carrying a diverse array of crews during its career, and moving forward our valuable space program. The space shuttles are national treasures, and Endeavour gets to retire in Los Angeles, making a twelve mile trek (not flying, but rolling at one to two miles an hour) through the city for two days to her final resting place at the California Science Center today.
Trees were removed, a dozen or so parking meters were upended, and power poles were relocated to make room for the shuttle, and her booming wing span, to travel through the streets for all to see her final journey. The 300,000 pound mass is being watched by huge crowds, and is receiving a wonderful welcome to the City of Los Angeles, California. Five stories high, flying 25 missions, traveling over 122 million miles in space, Endeavour was the fifth and final Space Shuttle built, constructed to be a replacement to the Challenger, which exploded after launch in 1986.
The shuttle was named after the British HMS Endeavour, the ship which took Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery (1768–1771). NASA chose to build Endeavour from spares rather than refitting Enterprise, or accepting a Rockwell International proposal to build two shuttles for the price of one. As it was constructed later, Endeavour was built with new hardware designed to improve and expand orbiter capabilities.
In 1993, it made the first service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. In December 1998, it delivered the Unity Module to the Zarya module of the International Space Station.
After departing from Florida atop a modified Boeing 747, a layover in Houston, a pit-stop at Edwards Air Force Base in northern Los Angeles County, and fly-overs over the Capitol in Sacramento, and cities San Francisco, and Monterey, Space Shuttle Endeavour touched down at the Los Angeles airport (LAX) on September 21, 2012, marking its final landing after a three-decade career of space flight.
Endeavour's final journey through the streets of Southern California, which began yesterday, is being called its final mission, but in reality its final mission will be the best of all of its missions - as a piece of history available for people to visit, tour, and appreciate.
Welcome home, Endeavour - you are amazing.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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