Endeavour Still Inching Toward Final Destination

At every turn of Endeavour's stop-and-go commute through urban streets, a constellation of spectators trailed along as the space shuttle ploddingly nosed past stores, schools, churches, and front yards. Having escaped out of Earth's atmosphere two dozen times, Endeavour's slow-speed trek today to its retirement center took it through the working class streets of southern Los Angeles. In an instant, the shuttle crossings became part of history. Along the 12-mile course, people marveled at the engineering. Some rooted for Endeavour when it appeared it might clip a lightpost. Others wondered if it could just hurry up to its destination.

Endeavour was scheduled to inch into the California Science Center late today to spend the rest of its years as a museum piece. Before it did, the shuttle made a late-morning pit stop at the Forum, where it was greeted in the arena's parking lot by a throng of cheering spectators. After crawling up Crenshaw Boulevard, the shuttle was scheduled to stop for a bit at the intersection with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A celebration was planned, including speeches by politicians and a dance performance choreographed by Debbie Allen. Endeavour hit the pavement before dawn yesterday, and last night was towed over a freeway overpass by a truck. Click for more on the 2mph journey. (More Endeavour stories.)