Endeavour Finally Reaches Its Permanent Home

It took much longer than expected, but the Space shuttle Endeavour has finally reached its permanent resting place at a Los Angeles museum. After a 12-mile journey through city streets that included thousands of adoring onlookers, flashing cameras, and even the filming of a TV commercial, Endeavour arrived at the California Science Center today to a greeting party of city leaders and other dignitaries that had expected it many hours earlier.

The Endeavour was still slowly moving toward a hangar on the grounds of the museum this afternoon. Organizers had planned a slow trip, saying the spacecraft that once orbited at more than 17,000 mph would move at just 2 mph in its final voyage. 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 trees and light posts. (More Space Shuttle Endeavour stories.)