Space shuttle Endeavour heads west to California for new mission
Posted: 09/19/2012
HOUSTON (AP) -- Space shuttle Endeavour has landed in Houston for a one-day stop on its trek west to retirement in a California museum.
The shuttle, atop a modified jumbo jet, touched down Wednesday morning on a runway near NASA's Johnson Space Center at Ellington Field. Hundreds of people cheered wildly during the landing and an earlier fly-by.
It's being described as a bittersweet moment because Endeavor is not staying at the home of NASA's Mission Control. Instead, Houston got a full-sized shuttle replica.
Bad weather this week delayed Endeavour's trip and will cut its time in Houston by a day.
Endeavour departed Kennedy Space Center in Florida earlier Wednesday after a two-day weather delay. It will stay in Houston until Thursday morning.
The shuttle will arrive at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday. In mid-October, it will be transported down city streets to the California Science Center.
This is NASA's last ferry flight of a shuttle. Atlantis will remain at Kennedy for display. Discovery is already at the Smithsonian Institution.
Endeavour flew 25 times in space before retiring last year.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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