Space Shuttle Endeavour Flies Over Los Angeles

Photo credit: NASA

It was a day with much anticipation… On Friday, September 21, 2012, the space shuttle Endeavour was scheduled to fly over numerous places in Los Angeles on its way from Edwards Air Force Base to Los Angeles International Airport during its final journey to its new home at the California Science Center here in Los Angeles. Perched atop a modified Boeing 747, it was supposed to arrive in the area at about 10:30am and fly at an altitude of 1,500 feet over several LA landmarks — the Getty Center, Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, Disneyland, the Queen Mary, Long Beach Aquarium, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Science Center. I had my hopes up, way up, that I would be able to catch a glimpse of it.

Then I realized I had a hair appointment and would be stuck in a salon chair at that time. The morning of its arrival I learned that it wouldn’t arrive in the area until 11:30am and it seemed it would be doing a couple of loops around the city. I was optimistic that I might be able to see it, especially when I heard its route and I was going to be right along it as it made its way from the beach to the Getty Center. It turns out my hair stylist and other clients and stylists in the salon were equally interested in seeing it so we were on a quest not to miss it. Someone was stationed outside the salon to keep us posted. Continue reading