Space Shuttle Embarks On 12-Mile Trip To LA Museum
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a massive feat of parallel parking, the space shuttle Endeavour has been backed into a Los Angeles parking lot for a pause on its final journey to a museum.
The 170,000-pound spacecraft was cheered by hundreds of viewers Friday morning as it made its predawn journey from a Los Angeles International Airport hangar through the Westchester neighborhood.
The shuttle is crawling at 2 mph on a two-day journey to the California Science Center, where it will spend its retirement. It hit the streets at around 2 a.m. as a crowd of people snapped photos and applauded.
The shuttle went about three miles before stopping at around 5:30 a.m. Its final nine-mile trek will begin in the afternoon.
The first leg was delayed about two hours by a minor problem with the shuttle's carrier. Endeavour also and made several stops so crews could prune trees in the path of its 75-foot wingspan.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
