KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--The space shuttle Endeavour, veteran of 25 trips to orbit since its maiden launch two decades ago, was prepped today for takeoff on its final flight tomorrow, a cross-country tour atop a NASA 747 transport jet that will give the public one last chance to see the iconic spaceplane in flight before landing in Los Angeles Friday for work to ready the ship for museum duty.
Running two days late because of stormy weather along the Gulf Coast, Endeavour and its carrier jet are scheduled for takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center's 3-mile-long shuttle runway around 7 a.m. ET tomorrow.
The space shuttle Endeavour, bolted to the back of NASA's 747 transport jet, stands ready for its final flight, from the Kennedy Space Center to Los Angeles where it will go on display at the California Science Center at the end of October.
(Credit: William Harwood/CBS News)
If all goes well, the transport jet and its 155,462-pound payload will land at Los Angeles International Airport around 2 p.m. Friday ET (11 a.m. PT). The shuttle will be housed in a United Airlines hanger until mid-October, when it will be hauled along city streets to its new home at the California Science Center near downtown Los Angeles.
The long-awaited move is the last time a space shuttle will take to the air, following similar museum runs for the prototype shuttle Enterprise, now on display at the In... [Read more]
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