![]() But she wasn't prepared for what she saw. Stephanie Gibbs, a longtime Inglewood resident, passed the Forum, where the Los Angeles Lakers used to play and where Endeavour made a pit stop Saturday, many times in her life. In 1991, it rolled off the assembly line in the Mojave Desert to replace Challenger, which blew up during liftoff in 1986.Īs Endeavour shuffled by crowds, its age was evident after 123 million miles in space and two dozen re-entries. Its "fly-by-wire" technology was developed in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey. The heat tiles were invented in Silicon Valley. Its main engines were fashioned in the San Fernando Valley. It may have zipped around the Earth nearly 4,700 times, but its roots are solidly grounded in California. Sidewalks were off-limits due to Endeavour's enormous wingspan.Įndeavour's arrival in Los Angeles was a homecoming. Despite temperatures in the mid-70s, several dozen people were treated for heat-related injuries after a long day in the sun, according to fire officials.īut it was a happy, peaceful crowd, with firefighters having only to respond to a sheared hydrant and a small rubbish fire, and no reports of any arrests.Īnd despite the late problems the mood for most of the day was festive.Īt every turn of Endeavour's slow-speed commute through urban streets, spectators jammed intersections as the shuttle shuffled past stores, schools, churches and front yards through the working-class streets of southern Los Angeles. Some 400 trees had been removed along the route, but officials said most of the trees that gave them trouble could not be cut down because they were old or treasured for other reasons, including some planted in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. But accumulated hurdles and hiccups caused it to run hours behind at day's end. Saturday started off promising, with Endeavour 90 minutes ahead of schedule. The dolly was pulled across the Manchester Boulevard bridge by a Toyota Tundra pickup, and the car company filmed the event for a commercial after paying for a permit, turning the entire scene into a movie set complete with special lighting, sound and staging. Late Friday, crews spent hours transferring the shuttle to a special, lighter towing dolly for its trip over Interstate 405. Transporting Endeavour cross-town was a costly feat with an estimated price tag of $10 million, to be paid for by the science center and private donations. "Not too many people will be able to match that - to say, 'We moved the space shuttle through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles.'" "It's historic and will be a great memory," he said. Movers had planned a slow trip, saying the shuttle that once orbited at more than 17,000 mph would move at just 2 mph in its final voyage through Inglewood and southern Los Angeles.īut that estimate turned out to be generous, with Endeavour often creeping along at a barely detectable pace when it wasn't at a dead stop due to difficult-to-maneuver obstacles like tree branches and light posts.Īnother delay came in the early morning hours Sunday when the shuttle's remote-controlled, 160-wheel carrier began leaking oil.ĭespite the holdups, the team charged with transporting the shuttle felt a "great sense of accomplishment" when it made it onto the museum grounds, said Jim Hennessy, a spokesman for Sarens, the contract mover. But here it is, and it's a dream come true." ![]() ![]() "We've waited so long and been told so many things about when it would get here. ![]() "It's like Christmas!" said Mark Behn, 55, a member of the museum ground support team who watched the shuttle's snail-like approach from inside the hangar. LOS ANGELES (AP) - It was supposed to be a slow but smooth journey to retirement, a parade through city streets for a shuttle that logged millions of miles in space.īut Endeavour's final mission turned out to be a logistical headache that delayed its arrival to its museum resting place by about 17 hours.Īfter a 12-mile weave past trees and utility poles that included thousands of adoring onlookers, flashing cameras and even the filming of a TV commercial, Endeavour arrived at the California Science Center Sunday to a greeting party of city leaders and other dignitaries that had expected it many hours earlier.Įndeavour finally inched toward a hangar on the grounds of the museum Sunday night. By ALICIA CHANG and CHRISTOPHER WEBERAssociated Press ![]()
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