Posted on 09/25/2012 9:17:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: It's not every day that a space shuttle lands at LAX. Although this was a first for the major Los Angeles airport hub, it was a last for the space shuttle Endeavour, as it completed its tour of California skies and landed, albeit atop a 747, for the last time. During its last flight the iconic shuttle and its chase planes were photographed near several of California's own icons including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Hollywood Sign, and the skyline of Los Angeles. Previously, in May, the space shuttle Enterprise was captured passing behind several of New York City's icons on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum. Pictured above, the piggybacking shuttle was snapped on approach last week to LAX as it crossed above and beyond a major Los Angeles street. Now retired, the space shuttles are all museum pieces, with the above shuttle scheduled to be towed along the streets of LA to the California Science Center.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Stephen Confer]
I don't know on F-18s.
F-16s, T-38s, and F-15s... they do.
Sorry, I always check what is being carried....
/johnny
I liked it better when they would go into space.
Wave bye bye to a US manned space program.
Those are external fuel tanks.
Awesome pic, but it just feels wrong that it did not land at Edwards.
I saw the Shuttle land at Edwards one night in the 80’s in the desert.
It was amazing.
No one will ever convince me that Houston, and not New York, should have a Space Shuttle. (Has nothing to do with this picture, and I have no problem with California having a shuttle....or Florida....or the Smithsonian).
/johnny
New York...we have a problem.
They got good Japanese spaghetti in Yokosuka.
That was the exact phrase that came to my mind. It just doesn’t have that ring to it.
It’s moving westbound, La Tijera Blvd...
They do indeed! Also the chow at USNH Yokosuka was the best I ever had in the Navy.
Never ate at USNH Yokokuska, but had a Japanese woman cook for me at 3 AM in the morning after we pulled in, and I was most thankful.
I had a grand time in Japan. Mostly just roaming the country and enjoying the culture in the country.
Thank you, it just aint right.
“Farewell... a fond farewell to all our greatness.”
I have always wondered how the weight of an orbiter in transit equals to the weight of a fully loaded 747 ot the type that was used to haul the shuttle from place to place. Would it roughly eqaul the total weight of a full passenger compliment along with its luggage and fuel load?
That aside, it was sad to see the finality of the Space Shuttle Program come to an end when Endeavour came to a stop in LA last week. that drove home the point that no more shuttle flights would ever be made. Now we have to wait a few years until we get our collective act together and start launch OUR people on OUR rockets from OUR launch pads in OUR country.
Another “what if” question that will never be answered is where would Columbia and Challenger have ended up if they hadn’t been destroyed? My gues is Columbia would have gone to the Smithsonian in D.C. because it was the first. Challenger may have stayed at KSC. Atlantis and Discovery would have been ditributed to a couple of museums. Endeavour would not have existed had Challenger survived. Endeavour was built to replace Challenger.
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