That has to go on the day it's planned," he added. "We don't have flexibility with respect to the days that we move from the airport to the science center. So if any weather issues delay the ferry flight in Florida or anywhere across the country on the way, our contingency for that is extra time at LAX." "And then we'll hopefully have a little extra there, as we have built in a cushion.
"It is a week to ten days of work to prepare the orbiter, getting it de-mated, taking off the tail cone, and doing the miscellaneous other work we need for transport," Rudolph told. There, NASA will have already staged large cranes to hoist Endeavour off of the aircraft's back and onto the wheeled overland transporter. Once on the ground at LAX, the shuttle-747 combo will taxi from the runway to a United Airlines hangar located on the west side of the airport. But we are obviously in discussions with them about flyovers and the precedent that was set in New York and D.C. "Because of FAA and NASA requirements, they won't determine anything until later. "The final decision and determination on flyovers is very close to the actual date," said Rudolph. In both earlier cases, the shuttle made spectacular flyovers of the cities' metropolitan areas and landmarks before touching down. and the prototype orbiter Enterprise that was flown to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City. 30.Įndeavour's ferry flight atop NASA's jumbo jet will proceed similarly to the earlier deliveries of space shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The building, which was named after the late philanthropist whose foundation made a significant gift to exhibit Endeavour, will open to the public on Oct. 13, the five-story tall, 78-foot wide (24 meters), 170,000-pound (77,111 kilogram) winged spacecraft will enter the CSC's newly-erected Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion.
Rolling up in the early evening hours of Saturday, Oct. Most importantly, this marks the beginning of Endeavour's ultimate mission of inspiring current and future innovators and explorers at the California Science Center." It is not only one of the biggest objects ever transported down city streets it's an irreplaceable national treasure. "This will mark the first, last and only time a shuttle will travel through 12 miles of urban, public streets. "We look forward to everyone joining in the celebration," said Rudolph. 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."Los Angeles is a world class city that deserves an out of this world attraction like the Endeavour," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a statement. 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.