Roscosmos / ESA / NASA
ENDEAVOUR NOW BELONGS TO THE CITY OF ANGELS... Today, NASA officially transferred ownership of space shuttle Endeavour to the California Science Center (CSC) in downtown Los Angeles. Endeavour will be delivered to L.A.—via a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (a modified Boeing 747)—from Florida's Kennedy Space Center in the latter half of 2012. This is assuming her decommissioning process will not be prolonged by NASA’s effort to remove Endeavour’s main propulsion system from the orbiter, and be used on the space agency’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System.
NASA / Jim Grossmann
Delaying Endeavour’s delivery to the City of Angels will actually be a good thing for the CSC, as it is still in the midst of planning a new $170 million building that will be the permanent home for the orbiter at the museum. The new Air and Space Center probably will not be opened till 2015 or 2016. Until then, Endeavour will be placed inside a temporary structure at CSC where millions of visitors can marvel at her technological beauty over the next few years.
Gene Blevins / LA Daily News
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