It is 122 feet long, 78 feet wide and stands five stories tall at the tail. Thousands of people line the streets of LA to see space shuttle Endeavour make its final journey.
The retired space shuttle rolled through Los Angeles at a tortoise-like crawl crossing over the 405 freeway, America’s busiest thoroughfare as it made its way to its new permanent home at a local museum.
Earlier in the day Endeavour nosed out of Los Angeles International Airport before dawn to begin a two-day, 12-mile journey atop a massive wheeled transporter to the California Science Center.
The shuttle, which flew from 1992 to 2011, will become a tourist attraction. Endeavour was largely built in southern California and was a workhorse of the US space programme, flying 25 missions.
The shuttle is 122 feet long and 78 feet wide and stands five stories tall at the tail – which police said makes it the largest object ever to move through Los Angeles. Its combined weight with the transporter is 80 tons.
Organisers say only a few inches separate Endeavour’s wings from structures along the route, and workers have felled 400 trees along curbs to clear a path. More than 1,000 trees will be planted to make up for their loss.
Some street lights, traffic signals, power poles and parking meters also are being temporarily removed.
Later on in the day Endeavour will appear at a massive rally outside an arena in the nearby city of Inglewood.