Rooftops, Tall Buildings Home To Best Endeavour Viewing Spots
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The retired space shuttle Endeavour is in Houston Wednesday night after getting a piggy back ride from Florida as the shuttle heads to its retirement home in Los Angeles.
But before it touches down for the final time, it will soar over Sacramento; and there are plenty of cool spots to watch the shuttle.
Any rooftop might get you that once-in-a-lifetime view of the shuttle being carried by a 747, which not only will be loud, but pretty big.
So, it'll be hard to miss if you look in the direction of the capitol Friday around 9:30 a.m.
With NASA's historic flyover Friday, the posh Citizen Hotel's value just soared to greater heights.
"There aren't a lot of places in Sacramento where you can get that high and be outside, and have such a great view," said Amy Dempster, Citizen's director of sales and marketing.
The shuttle is expected to pass right over the Citizen at 1,500 feet; so, they're getting a lot of requests to open up their top floor.
The higher up you get, the cooler the view. On the 14th floor of the Citizen, you won't be eye-to-eye with the shuttle, but it is going to look pretty massive from there.
Now don't get your hopes up too high, the balcony can only hold so many people. So, It's only for in-house guests.
Not to worry though, parking garage rooftops, tall office buildings -- even any downtown Sacramento sidewalk will provide you that breathtaking sight.
Another spot, which may not be anywhere near downtown, but is sure to have plenty of viewers, is Aerojet. You can bet its employees will be looking to the skies, as they have been for decades.
"I'll be probably here in the parking lot looking for a flyover," said Ken Klaas, Aerojet technical principal.
Klaas was instrumental in Endeavour's many missions. He was part of building the orbital maneuvering substation, a 6,000-pound engine that moved Endeavor in outer space.
And Klaas was glued to each of the shuttle's 25 missions.
"You can't be in this business and have a passion for it without watching every launch," said Klaas.
You can bet he, like so many Californians, will pay tribute, saying goodbye to NASA's fifth and final space shuttle on its final flight.
You can get more on the shuttle flyover on our Shuttle Endeavour page.
