How to See Shuttle Endeavour Roll Through L.A. This Week

Endeavour Atop Over Land Transporter
Space shuttle Endeavour is seen atop the Over Land Transporter in a hangar at Los Angeles International Airport. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

UPDATE: See Endeavour's road trip through Los Angeles here: Space Shuttle Endeavour's L.A. Street Parade (Pictures )

A space shuttle is set to make its first-ever parade through city streets this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 12 and 13), and anyone in the Los Angeles area can get a front-row seat.

The retired shuttle Endeavour, which made its last trip to space in May 2011, is soon set to join the ranks of museum displays at the California Science Center (CSC).

The orbiter flew to California in September from its previous home base at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Since then, it's been waiting at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) until the museum is ready to receive it. The final leg of its journey is set for later this week.

The space shuttle is due to make the 12-mile (19 kilometer) trip from LAX to the CSC during a two-day parade beginning before dawn on Friday morning. Over the course of its parade through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles, Endeavour will stop for celebrations outside The Forum, the former L.A. Lakers arena, and at a street intersection where "Fame" actress Debbie Allen has choreographed a tribute performance.

Endeavour will roll through the streets atop a special NASA transporter pulled by four computer-controlled vehicles. For a small part of its trip, the shuttle will be towed by a Toyota Tundra pickup truck. The whole progression is being dubbed "Mission 26: The Big Endeavour," as the shuttle previously made 25 missions to orbit. [Photos: Shuttle Endeavour's California Sightseeing Tour]

Public viewing will be possible only from select locations, as safety and logistics concerns have forced the police to shut down many streets and sidewalks.

The giant orbiter, which has a 78-foot (24 meter) wingspan and a 58-foot-tall (18 m) tail, will be a tight squeeze through many roads, where several hundred trees have had to be felled in preparation for the shuttle's passage. (The CSC Foundation is sponsoring the replanting of up to four trees in place of each downed one, as well as two years of tree maintenance.)

This map shows the 12-mile route the space shuttle Endeavour will take from Los Angeles International Airport (lower left) to the California Science Center on Oct. 12-13, 2012. (Image credit: California Science Center)

Here's an outline of Endeavour's expected route:

Friday (Oct. 11), 2 a.m. PDT: Endeavour to depart LAX

Friday, mid-morning: Endeavour will take Westchester Boulevard to Sepulveda, where it will stop for about nine hours for power lines to be raised.

Friday, afternoon: Endeavour will continue down Manchester Boulevard, crossing into Inglewood, where it will stop for another six hours for more power line work.

Friday, overnight: Endeavour will cross the 405 freeway.

Saturday, 8 a.m. PDT: Endeavour will pass by Inglewood City Hall, where the public can see it, and continue to The Forum for a public ceremony.

Saturday, 2 p.m. PDT: Endeavour will stop at Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard for the Debbie Allen production, which will also be open to the public.

Saturday, afternoon: Endeavour will take King to Bill Robertson Lane and then turn left into Exposition Park.

Saturday, 9 p.m. PDT: Endeavour is expected to arrive at the California Science Center, where the public can view it roll in.

 

If you snap a photo of Endeavour during its trip across L.A. streets and want to share them with SPACE.com, send photos, comments and location info to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Clara Moskowitz
Assistant Managing Editor

Clara Moskowitz is a science and space writer who joined the Space.com team in 2008 and served as Assistant Managing Editor from 2011 to 2013. Clara has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She covers everything from astronomy to human spaceflight and once aced a NASTAR suborbital spaceflight training program for space missions. Clara is currently Associate Editor of Scientific American. To see her latest project is, follow Clara on Twitter.