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Who could make a cross-country trip to Los Angeles and not check out Venice Beach, the Getty Center and Disneyland?
Those are just a few of the local landmarks the space shuttle Endeavour is expected to fly over Friday morning before it lands at Los Angeles International Airport.
The shuttle, which will ride atop a modified 747 aircraft carrier, is supposed to touch down on LAX's south airfield by about noon Friday -- wrapping up a journey that began early Wednesday at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The orbiter is set to retire at the California Science Center in Exposition Park following a carefully planned trip Oct. 12 and 13 along Los Angeles surface streets.
"We will give Endeavour a grand L.A. welcome home," Science Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph said of the orbiter that was built in Palmdale. "To see it in the air, the last and only chance to do that will be Friday morning. It's truly a historic occasion."
The Endeavour, which reached Ellington Field in Houston on Wednesday morning, is expected to begin the next leg of its trip this morning and end up at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. It's expected to leave Edwards on Friday and do low-level flyovers in Sacramento and San Francisco before heading to Los Angeles.
Science Center officials released more details Wednesday morning about flyovers planned around Southern California before the shuttle's final landing. The massive orbiter -- which stands 57 feet tall on the runway and has a 78-foot wingspan -- is expected to enter L.A. airspace about 10:30 a.m. Friday or shortly thereafter.
Endeavour is expected to pass over its new home -- the California Science Center -- along with Disneyland, Los Angeles City Hall, and the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary in Long Beach, at about 1,500 feet, officials said. Other viewing spots include the Griffith Observatory, Malibu, Universal Studios, and
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Officials declined to disclose the orbiter's exact route or offer a more detailed timetable, citing safety concerns. But those standing outside landmarks along the planned flight path "will have incredible views," Rudolph said.
"Where you are in L.A. will probably determine (to be) the best places without driving all over town," he added.
With Wednesday's announcement about low-level flyover locations came a warning message for motorists, who were asked not to stop and pull over on freeways and surface streets to get a look at the orbiter in flight aboard the 747 carrier.
Science Center and law enforcement officials urged people instead to plan ahead and settle on an appropriate viewing position -- outside the airport. "I want to emphasize that LAX is not one of those," said Michael Feldman, deputy executive director of facilities management for Los Angeles World Airports.
"We are trying to get the word out ... this is the time to be vigilant," said Cmdr. Scott Kroeber of the Los Angeles Police Department. "If you're driving, please drive and don't try to take in the show simultaneously."
The LAPD is expecting people to follow the directives but will nonetheless "be out in numbers" to monitor activity on the ground, Kroeber said. Also, the California Highway Patrol will have additional units positioned along the San Diego (405) Freeway corridor to prevent drivers from veering onto the shoulder, CHP Assistant Chief Calvin Aubrey said.
But all is not lost for those who can't get out of their cars or make it to one of the landmarks along the shuttle's route Friday morning.
Officials also revealed that they expect the Endeavour to stay outside at LAX over the weekend as the orbiter is lifted off its aircraft carrier by a crane and placed onto a transporter to carry it to the Science Center.
"It will be outside for a couple of days" until it moves into a United Airlines hangar, LAWA's Feldman said. The shuttle is expected to stay inside that hangar, until the early-morning hours of Oct. 12.
