Endeavour completes final voyage to museum
Source: Agencies |
October 16, 2012, Tuesday
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IT was supposed to be a slow but smooth journey to retirement, a parade through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles for a shuttle that logged millions of kilometers in space.
But Endeavour's final mission turned out to be a logistical headache that delayed its arrival to its museum resting place by about 17 hours.
After a 19-kilometer weave past trees and utility poles that included thousands of adoring onlookers, flashing cameras and even the filming of a TV commercial, Endeavour arrived at the California Science Center on Sunday to a greeting party of city leaders and other dignitaries that had expected it many hours earlier.
Endeavour was still inching toward a hangar on the grounds of the museum mid-Sunday afternoon.
"It's like Christmas!" said Mark Behn, 55, a member of the museum ground support team who watched the shuttle's snail-like approach from inside the hangar. "We've waited so long and been told so many things about when it would get here. But here it is, and it's a dream come true."
Movers had planned a slow trip, saying the shuttle that once orbited at more than 27,000 kph would move at just 3.2 kph in its final voyage through Inglewood and southern Los Angeles.
'Sense of accomplishment'
But that estimate turned out to be generous, with Endeavour often creeping along at a barely detectable pace when it wasn't at a dead stop due to difficult-to-maneuver obstacles like tree branches and light posts.
Another delay came when the shuttle's remote-controlled, 160-wheel carrier began leaking oil.
Despite the holdups, the team charged with transporting the shuttle felt a "great sense of accomplishment" when it made it onto the museum grounds, said Jim Hennessy, a spokesman for Sarens, the contract mover.
"It's historic and will be a great memory," he said. "Not too many people will be able to match that - to say, 'We moved the space shuttle through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles.'"
Transporting Endeavour was a costly feat with an estimated price tag of US$10 million, paid for by the science center and private donations.
As Endeavour shuffled by crowds, its age was evident after 198 million kilometers in space and two dozen re-entries.
Stephanie Gibbs, a longtime Inglewood resident, said: "There was a space shuttle blocking the street and I said, 'Whoa.'"
But Endeavour's final mission turned out to be a logistical headache that delayed its arrival to its museum resting place by about 17 hours.
After a 19-kilometer weave past trees and utility poles that included thousands of adoring onlookers, flashing cameras and even the filming of a TV commercial, Endeavour arrived at the California Science Center on Sunday to a greeting party of city leaders and other dignitaries that had expected it many hours earlier.
Endeavour was still inching toward a hangar on the grounds of the museum mid-Sunday afternoon.
"It's like Christmas!" said Mark Behn, 55, a member of the museum ground support team who watched the shuttle's snail-like approach from inside the hangar. "We've waited so long and been told so many things about when it would get here. But here it is, and it's a dream come true."
Movers had planned a slow trip, saying the shuttle that once orbited at more than 27,000 kph would move at just 3.2 kph in its final voyage through Inglewood and southern Los Angeles.
'Sense of accomplishment'
But that estimate turned out to be generous, with Endeavour often creeping along at a barely detectable pace when it wasn't at a dead stop due to difficult-to-maneuver obstacles like tree branches and light posts.
Another delay came when the shuttle's remote-controlled, 160-wheel carrier began leaking oil.
Despite the holdups, the team charged with transporting the shuttle felt a "great sense of accomplishment" when it made it onto the museum grounds, said Jim Hennessy, a spokesman for Sarens, the contract mover.
"It's historic and will be a great memory," he said. "Not too many people will be able to match that - to say, 'We moved the space shuttle through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles.'"
Transporting Endeavour was a costly feat with an estimated price tag of US$10 million, paid for by the science center and private donations.
As Endeavour shuffled by crowds, its age was evident after 198 million kilometers in space and two dozen re-entries.
Stephanie Gibbs, a longtime Inglewood resident, said: "There was a space shuttle blocking the street and I said, 'Whoa.'"
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