Shuttle Endeavour Hoisted Off Jumbo Jet for Road Trip to L.A. Museum

Space.com ^ | September 22, 2012 | Robert Z. Pearlman

[South40]

Here is the original caption.

The space shuttle Endeavour atop the 747 shuttle carrier aircraft is seen flying over Angels Stadium in Anaheim during the final portion of its tour of California, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jim Ross)

Here's a larger version of the image.

[Kickass Conservative]

When they had to land at Edwards due to bad weather in FL, they were flown back on the 747.

The Wife and I saw Challenger land there back in the 80’s.

I always watched the Live broadcasts of the take offs, even after the shine was off the apple so to speak. I still remember watching Challenger take off for the last time. I called the Wife at work to tell her what happened.
It was surreal.

Now that the Shuttle fleet is retired and the Public seems to have no interest in the future of our manned flight program or even the ISS that circles the Globe as we speak, I wonder what has happened to our American ideals.

Maybe I'm just getting too old and too sick and tired of watching our Society disintegrate before my eyes. To me, the Election of Obama has become a symbol of our descent in the abyss. His Reelection, now that ignorance is no longer an excuse, will seal the deal. Pray for America.

My apologies for the rant. I find this whole Shuttle victory lap to be an Epilogue, not an opening chapter to what a hopeful future holds. Celebration and sadness...

[gonzo]

Is that a pic of the Boeing 707 prototype doing it's famous barrel-roll on its' test flight?

Can't think of any other .................................................. FRegards

[Uncle Chip]

Did I forget to mention two-ply???

[tanknetter]

Shuttle Endeavour cockpit...

It's a shame that her cockpit no longer looks like that, and probably never will again.

Endeavour and Atlantis have basically been gutted of equipment prior to going on display as NASA wanted to keep a lot of what was inside them for research use and reuse. I believe that includes having their cockpits stripped if not completely disassembled.

The Smithsonian had to fight like hell to keep Discovery mostly intact under the justification that at least one shuttle should be maintained as a "time capsule" of their active service. As it is, even the "shuttle of record" (Discovery) like her sisters had a bunch of SME plumbing yanked out (there are mockup/faux SMEs attached to all three of them) because NASA is keeping all the engines so they can be expended as part whatever the current manned spaceflight is being called ...

[tanknetter]

No, Houston should have received the Enterprise which went to NY, of all places.

...

Endeavour is back home.

With only four shuttles available, someone deserving was going to lose out. IMHO Discovery is appropriately at the Smithsonian. Atlantis, as the ship that flew most of the USAF/NRO missions, should have gone to Wright-Pat/NMUSAF. Endeavour should have stayed at Kennedy and Enterprise, as the first-born of the fleet, the engineering prototype/test ship and the one used for the drop tests, to California. Although Atlantis going to Houston would have been fine too.

Enterprise going to NYC is a crime, imho. NASA violated their own competition standards to send here there (same thing with Endeavor to the place in CA she's going to). As much as I appreciate the Intrepid as a museum they don't meet the financial or facility standards for being the custodian of a shuttle. Being in a salt-water environment Enterprise WILL corrode and do so quickly. And they've already managed to rip part of one of her wingtips off barging her over from JFK (which they "fixed" with a couple cans of black spray paint).

The ONLY reason Enterprise is there is because NASA wanted to throw a bone to Chuck Schumer. Like I said, criminal.

[tanknetter]

To add, I’ve wondered why the Apollo XIII CM “Odyssey” is sitting out at the Kansas Cosmosphere. If anything SHE should be on display in Houston. IMHO.

As an aside, I was surprised recently in learning that after Apollo XIII NASA continued the practice of jettisoning the LMs prior to leaving Lunar orbit. I would have thought that they would have brought them back to Earth as a “lifeboat” hedge against a potential repeat of what happened on XIII.

[Daffynition]

WWSCD? [WhatWouldCherylCrowDo?]

[Uncle Chip]

LOL — you are daffynitely on a roll with your pictures.

[Daffynition]

I admit.....I see things differently.

[Uncle Chip]

I admit.....I see things differently.

differently or daffyrently.

[EveningStar]

Yes. That’s what I’ve been told. :)

[dragnet2]

It's a shame that her cockpit no longer looks like that, and probably never will again.

Yes it will.

Often when government equipment/aircraft etc., are deactivated/retired or mothballed, some or much of the controls/panels/wiring/armaments and sensitive technologies are removed for a variety of reasons.

However, it's my understanding Endeavour will be restored and detailed to as close to original as humanly possible, and there are people here that are masters and wizards at that type of thing.

It's going to be a world class American exhibit.

[dragnet2]

With only four shuttles available, someone deserving was going to lose out.

Agree.

IMHO Discovery is appropriately at the Smithsonian. Atlantis, as the ship that flew most of the USAF/NRO missions, should have gone to Wright-Pat/NMUSAF.

If memory serves, Atlantis flew about 33 missions, and only a fraction or 4 or 5 of those were DOD/NRO.

Someone was going to lose out and I think most would agree, Texas was the big loser here, not Ohio.

That being said, as I mentioned earlier, without question if any state deserved one of these spacecraft, it is California.

[Daffynition]