But because the shuttle is so big, the center is going to be cutting down 400 trees in Inglewood and South L.A. on its way here to the California Science Center. For a month, the shuttle will be prepped at the airport before making a slow journey through the streets of L.A. MORGA: It was the most awesome airplane - I mean, show that I've ever seen.īARCO: This historic arrival has created quite a buzz. GENESIS MORGA: That was so awesome, and it looked like the nose is - it kind of pokes through the world. Here it comes now, riding on top of a 747 jumbo jet. It's flying close overhead at places like Disneyland, Universal Studios, the Griffith Observatory, Venice Beach and now right here. After circling the planet 4,600 times, the shuttle is finally becoming a star near Hollywood. This is where the Endeavour will become L.A.'s newest tourist attraction. Alexander Elementary, a charter school affiliated with science center, surrounded by hundreds of school children. MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: I'm here on the playground of Theodore T. UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Endeavour, Endeavour, Endeavour. NPR's Mandalit del Barco was with some elementary school students as the shuttle flew by. Before Endeavour touched down, it made a low-level pass over a number of Southern California landmarks. There, it will find new life as an exhibit in a science museum. It flew over San Francisco and Sacramento before heading south to Los Angeles. Endeavour left Andrews Air Force Base this morning on the back of a 747. This was the 25th and final flight for Endeavour, which spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles, wrapping up an illustrious spaceflight career.Finally this hour, to California, where space shuttle Endeavour made its final flight today. June 1, completing the STS-134 mission and marking the 24th nighttime landing in Space Shuttle Program history. Following a “go” for the deorbit burn from mission managers at Johnson Space Center in Houston and cooperating weather at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility, Endeavour made its final approach on the first opportunity.Įndeavour touched down on Runway 15 at 2:35 a.m. The payload bay doors were closed and the astronauts prepared for landing. May 29, the hatches between the space station and Endeavour closed for the last time as the shuttle’s crew members prepared for their return to Earth.Īfter a flyaround, Kelly took the controls for a test of the automated rendezvous and docking system called STORRM, which stands for Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation. The complex 16-day mission, dedicated to station assembly and maintenance, included four spacewalks and the installation of AMS, which already is sending data about cosmic particles to researchers on Earth.Īt 7:23 a.m. This was the first shuttle flight for Fincke, a veteran space flier, and Vittori, who is the last international astronaut to fly aboard a shuttle.Īfter a two-day race to catch up to the station, Endeavour docked and the hatches were opened uniting the Expedition 27 and shuttle crews. Johnson, Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori with the European Space Agency rounded out the crew. Headed for the International Space Station, the agency’s youngest shuttle made its final flight delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and critical supplies, including two communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional parts for the Dextre robot. STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly and his crew of five blasted off Launch Pad 39A on space shuttle Endeavour from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, May 16, 2011, at 8:56 a.m.
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