ENDEAVOUR FERRY

NASA's retired spacecraft Space Shuttle Endeavour will take a final tour across the US from Florida to the California Science Center in Los Angeles piggybacking a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).  The flight, which was scheduled to begin today 17th September, has now been postponed until tomorrow September 18th due to inclement weather.

Despite the delay, NASA still aims to transport Endeavour to LA International Airport by September 20.  The SCA will conduct low-level flyovers of about 1,500 feet above many locations along the scheduled flight route. The exact timing of these flyovers will vary depending on weather conditions and operational constraints. Some scheduled flyovers could still be delayed or cancelled.

On Tuesday, Sept. 18, the SCA will carry Endeavour over various areas of Florida’s Space Coast, including the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base.  After visiting key areas in Florida, SCA will then carry on towards Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.  As it arrives over the Texas Gulf Coast, it will perform flyovers above Houston and Clear Lake before landing at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

On Wednesday, Sept. 19, the SCA will depart Houston, refuel at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, and continue on with flyovers above White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico and NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, before landing at Dryden about midday.

On September 20, the SCA will take off from Dryden and perform flyovers above NASA’s Ames Research Center and various landmarks in several cities before reaching its final destination at Los Angeles Airport, after which Endeavour will be removed from the SCA and spend a few weeks at a United Airlines hangar undergoing transport preparations for its 12 mile journey down city streets through Inglewood and LA to the California Science Center.

Endeavour is scheduled to arrive at the California Science Center on the evening of October 13.  Endeavour will be displayed at the center’s Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion beginning October 30. The display will commemorate Endeavour’s achievements as part of the Space Shuttle program. Endeavour completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles.  What an achievement and what a way to retire.

T.P.Anand, Dubai, U.A.E.

17th September 2012