Space Shuttle Endeavour's last mission – a coast-to-coast flight on the back of a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) – is a sight to see. In 1991, construction of Endeavor was completed right here in Palmdale. As NASA's last orbitor built, it took it's first space mission in May 1992 and it's last in May 2011. After spending 299 days in orbit circling the planet 4,671 times, Endeavor will return to our district today!
Endeavour will be landing at Edwards Air Force Base today, between 11:45 am and 12:45 pm. Then, tomorrow morning at approximately 7:15 am, there will be fly-overs around the Antelope Valley before the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Endeavour turns northward towards Yosemite, Sacramento, NASA Ames Research Center, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
There will also be some spectacular fly-overs all over Southern California tomorrow. Griffith Observatory, Disneyland, the former Space Shuttle facility in Downey, Boeing in Huntington Beach, even The Getty Center are potentially very good viewing locations before the final landing at LAX.
For those of you who live in the Antelope Valley, there are some great viewing locations. One in particular is the familiar gathering and aircraft viewing location at Sierra Highway and Avenue N in Palmdale – across from Air Force Plant 42, the “Birthplace of America’s Space Shuttle Orbiter Fleet.”
Endeavour fly-over routes in California:
- Low-level flyovers of the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster and the towns of Rosamond and Mojave are scheduled early Friday morning after a planned 7:15 a.m. departure from Edwards, prior to the SCA-Endeavour combo heading north toward Sacramento.
- Any time after 8:30 am on Friday September 21, watch for flyovers of Endeavour in the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. Suggested viewing locations include the State Capitol in Sacramento, some of the San Francisco area museums including the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Chabot Space and Science Center, the Exploratorium, the Lawrence Hall of Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium near Santa Cruz and Monterey.
- Any time after 10:30 am on Friday, September 21, watch for flyovers of Endeavour in the Los Angeles area. You may have an opportunity to see Endeavour passing regional landmarks such as California Science Center, Disneyland, The Getty Center, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles International Airport and Malibu, among others.
- At LAX, the shuttle will stay in a hangar for more than three weeks. On Oct. 13, the spacecraft will be hauled by truck to the California Science Center in Exposition Park in downtown Los Angeles, where it will be put on display.
- "The final flight path is up to the complete discretion of the pilot and the flight crew in command," NASA Dryden Flight Research Center spokesman Alan Brown said Tuesday. The timing can also change based on weather.
- Please be safe when viewing the fly-overs. Don't stop in the middle of the freeway or other roadways to do so or to take photos. These actions can contribute to traffic congestion and accidents. The Office of Emergency Management also asks that all residents interested in viewing the shuttle plan ahead and find a safe viewing location during the intended fly-over and contact individual locations for viewing information.
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