Observatories and Instruments

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) on LC-39a. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

I made it home from my run this morning just in time for Endeavour’s last list off from Kennedy Space Center—on the back of a Boeing 747. Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) seem to be part of my daily life now. NASA has already uploaded a photo set of this morning’s ferry flight on its flickr site, but I’m taking this opportunity to link to a wallpaper that already feels vintage: a classic storm shot from April 2011 showing Endeavour on launch complex 39a before the rollback of the Rotating Service Structure.

This is a bit of belated information that I shared on twitter but forgot to post here: if you know the tail number of a NASA aircraft, you can use FlightAware to check for flight times. Endeavour’s last hop will take place courtesy of SCA N905NA, as did all the Shuttle ferry flights. You can type that tail number in at FlightAware to produce a list of scheduled flight times and destinations. I also use FlightAware to check on Super Guppy flights (tail number NASA941).

Click on the image above to reach the appropriate spot in NASA’s flickr stream. Once you’ve reached that page, right click on the image to save a copy to your harddrive.

Endeavour, ready to travel. Photo credit: Mike Killian / www.MikeKillianPhotography.com

Mike Killian posted some sweet photos to the “Welcome Endeavour/Spot the Shuttle” group on facebook. Killian is a professional photographer out of Florida and his portfolio includes some fantastic Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral shots. Check out his Final Voyage of the Endeavour photos. I’m finding the decommissioning the Space Shuttles almost as impressive as their space flights.

In case you missed it, Spaceflight 101 has a nice summary of Endeavour’s planned ferry flight next Monday, September 17. I have never been so envious of our relatives who live in California’s central valley as I am now.

Endeavour at the VAB, Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: C. A. Johnson-Roehr

I’ve returned to this post to add the above photo, which was taken by my partner during the #MSL #NASATweetup last November. That’s the Space Shuttle Endeavour during decommissioning. Over a period of several months, every Shuttle went through a decontamination process, with some toxic elements shipped offsite for remediation. During the same time period, NASA harvested select components, like the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods and the main engines, for potential re-use in next-generation spacecraft. While we were at Kennedy Space Center for the MSL launch, we were fortunate to be escorted into the VAB for an up-close and personal look at Endeavour right after the OMS and Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) came out. I’d show you more views of Endeavour in the VAB, but apparently my partner and I were both too busy staring and saying things like, “Oh my god, it’s RIGHT THERE!” to take photos.

I won’t make that mistake the next time I see Endeavour. And I will see Endeavour again. I just purchased a plane ticket to Los Angeles and while I’m going to be doing some “real work” while I’m there, I’m planning on walking/running as much of the twelve mile route between LAX and the California Science Center as the people in charge of move will allow. I’ve got plans to go up to Mount Wilson Observatory while I’m in the area as well, so this page should be overflowing with photos and commentary come the middle of October. Fun times ahead!

Endeavour’s Route Across Los Angeles and Inglewood

I’ve written before about the dispersal of the Space Shuttle fleet around the United States (see earlier posts here and here) and promised to return to the topic when I knew more about Endeavour’s arrival in Los Angeles. The California Science Center just released the map showing the route the Shuttle will take on surface streets between LAX and the museum, which is located just across Exposition Boulevard from USC.

I’m super excited by the prospect of the move. I volunteer for an affordable housing program that moves historic houses across town every so often; in fact, we’re moving a house tomorrow, an expensive and complicated task. If the move is scheduled for a weekday, it needs to happen when it won’t conflict with peak commuting hours (the house rolls at 9 a.m. tomorrow). A house on a flatbed is a relatively tall object and a few power lines always need to come down along the route. It costs something like $10,000 to cut and reconnect a power line in our county, so the organization always searches for the least “wired” route through town.

Now, imagine moving a spacecraft in Los Angeles, the high-density-traffic capital of the world. There’s a reason the move starts in the middle of the night on October 12 (formal ceremonies are the morning of October 13 at Inglewood City Hall). The route crosses the 405, not a place you want to be during rush hour on a weekday. Ironically, it sounds like a few trees along the route may pose the greatest challenge to the mission’s success. Transport will take all day, so there will be plenty of time to get your space geek on.

I’m trying to decide if I can justify making a trip to Los Angeles to witness the transfer in person. I’m a little attached to Endeavour—I was lucky enough to see it in the VAB at Kennedy Space Center during its decommissioning—and I’d like to see at least one Space Shuttle make its final journey. I’m sure you’ll read about it here if I can make the trip happen for me.