Endeavour to land at LAX, spend two weeks in hangar

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is expected to arrive in Los Angeles in late September, carried atop a 747 jetliner from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The craft will land on the long, southernmost runway at LAX then spend about two weeks in a United Airlines hangar, airport officials said Monday.

In mid-October, Endeavour will begin its slow roll across the county to the California Science Center at Exposition Park. The trip isn't quite as challenging as moving the Levitated Mass boulder, but it will be another complicated maneuver.

First step is to move across the north airfield at LAX and out onto the streets, says Art Marroquin at the Daily Breeze. Flight operations at LAX will have to briefly shut down.

While other local airports were considered to avoid air traffic disruptions, LAX was ultimately selected because it has the longest runways in the region and is in relatively close proximity to the Exposition Park museum, said Michael Feldman, deputy executive director for facilities management at LAX....

The orbiter, with a wing span of nearly 80 feet, will travel at about 2 mph through the streets of Los Angeles, carefully maneuvering past traffic signals, structures and trees.

Endeavour flew 25 missions during a career that spanned from May 1992 to May 2011 and will end its trek inside a new aircraft hangar at the California Science Center, where it will be available for public viewing.

Museum officials plan to eventually build a new Air and Space Center, with the decommissioned shuttle serving as the centerpiece.

Previously on LA Observed:
California Science Center gets space shuttle Endeavour
Talking about LA's space shuttle
Endeavour a go to land tonight in Florida