Space shuttle Endeavour's final trek

The space shuttle Endeavour arrives at the hangar at the California Science Center for its last stop on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Los Angeles. Endeavour arrived at the museum after a 12-mile parade with thousands of onlookers, ending with a greeting party of city leaders and other dignitaries.

Traymond Harris, left, and Ryan Hudge play basketball as the shuttle Endeavour passes by on Crenshaw Ave. in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2012. The iconic black and white orbiter, which flew 25 times to space over the past two decades, arrived at the California Science Center on Oct. 14 to begin its new mission as a museum exhibit. Endeavour had been scheduled to pull up at the CSC on Oct. 13, but natural and utility obstacles, as well as the need for maintenance of its transporters, slowed the pace of the shuttle's parade and delayed its arrival by a day.

A man takes a photo as space shuttle Endeavour passes by in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2012. Transporting Endeavour cross-town was a costly feat with an estimated price tag of $10 million, to be paid for by the science center and private donations.

Children watch from a window as space shuttle Endeavour travels to the California Science Center on Crenshaw Blvd. in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 13.

The space shuttle Endeavour make its way down Manchester Blvd. in Los Angeles on Oct. 12, 2012. Movers had planned a slow trip, saying the shuttle that once orbited at more than 17,000 mph would move at just 2 mph in its final voyage through Inglewood and southern Los Angeles. But that estimate turned out to be generous, with Endeavour often creeping along at a barely detectable pace when it wasn't at a dead stop due to difficult-to-maneuver obstacles like tree branches and light posts

Space shuttle Endeavour makes a right turn onto Manchester Ave. in Los Angeles while being moved from Los Angeles International Airport to its retirement home at the California Science Center in Exposition Park, on Oct. 12.

Space shuttle Endeavour stops in front of Randy's Donuts as it's transported from Los Angeles International Airport to its retirement home at the California Science Center in Exposition Park in Los Angeles on Oct. 12.

Mifumi Nakajima takes a picture of her husband, Nozomo Nakajima, holding their children Leigha Nakajima, 3, and Eli Nakajima, 6 mos., in front of the space shuttle Endeavour in a mall parking lot on Oct. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles. The Endeavour is making the journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center to go on permanent public display.

A police officer stands near space shuttle Endeavour as it leaves Los Angeles International Airport and is transported on city streets to the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 12, 2012. Endeavour began a two-day ground journey atop a massive wheeled transporter to its final resting place at the science center on the edge of downtown Los Angeles.

Cranes lower the space shuttle Endeavour onto a wheeled platform that will serve as the overland transporter early Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, at Los Angeles International Airport. In a few weeks Endeavour will be towed through city streets to its new home at the California Science Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The space shuttle Endeavour, mounted on a 747 airliner, passes over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on a low-level flyover at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 21, 2012. Endeavour's arrival at LAX completed a three day, cross-country farewell tour. The last leg of the trip, from Edwards Air Force Base to Los Angeles, marked the final airborne journey for any of NASA's three surviving shuttles. In October, Endeavour will travel through Los Angeles' streets to the California Science Center.

Spectators wait for the space shuttle Endeavour to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 21. Hundreds of people turned up as early as 6 a.m. to secure a good viewing spot for the arrival.

The space shuttle Endeavour, perched atop its modified 747 carrier jet, is escorted by two other planes as it passes in front of Los Angeles' Hollywood sign on Sept. 21.

The space shuttle Endeavour and its carrier airplane make a pass over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge on Sept. 21, 2012, during Endeavour's final flight.

A spectator takes pictures of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge while waiting for Endeavour on Sept. 21.

The space shuttle Endeavour sits atop its carrier aircraft, a 747 jumbo jet, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Sept. 20, 2012. Its arrival at Edwards was a homecoming of sorts for the California-made spacecraft, which was built as a replacement for Challenger. Endeavour made its way to California from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, via Texas.

The space shuttle Endeavour is ferried by NASA's shuttle carrier aircraft over the Organ Mountains in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sept. 20. Endeavour was making its way from Houston's Ellington Field to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Thousands of students and faculty on the Mall of the University of Arizona, left, look up as the Endeavour flies over Tucson on Sept. 20. Also on the campus, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords waves to the shuttle with her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly. Giffords retired from the House after suffering serious head injuries during a 2011 shooting attack. Months after the attack, Kelly served as Endeavour's last space commander.

Endeavour flies past the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin, en route to California on the morning of Sept. 20.

The space shuttle Endeavour and its carrier jet fly over Houston on Sept. 19. Endeavour made an overnight stopover in Houston, the home of Johnson Space Center, which houses the agency's astronaut training facilities and Mission Control.

The Endeavour flies over Ellington Field in Houston on Sept. 19.

Jorgen and Ruth Sabinsky watch as the shuttle Endeavour and its carrier jet fly over Cocoa Beach, Fla., shortly after the start of its cross-country journey from Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 19.

Bolted on top of a modified jumbo jet, Endeavour makes its departure from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 19.

A bird sits on a stake near the space shuttle Endeavour and its carrier jet at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 17, during preparations for the shuttle's cross-country piggyback flight to California.

Two space shuttles face each other as Endeavour backs out of the Orbiter Processing Facility and Atlantis is moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Aug. 16, 2012, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour was being processed for its piggyback flight to California, while Atlantis was being prepared for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA's 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building rises in the background.