The final flight of an era ends in a California homecoming

Space · Published 14 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In September 2012, the space shuttle program took its final ferry flight. After decades of orbiting the Earth, the orbiter Endeavour returned to its birthplace in Southern California for one last journey—not into the stars, but into a permanent home where it would stand vertically for the public.

The arrival of Space Shuttle Endeavour at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on September 21, 2012, marked more than just a logistics milestone; it signaled the conclusion of the space shuttle program era. Following a 72-hour journey across the nation starting from Florida, the craft paused twice within Texas and spent one night at Edwards Air Force Base's Dryden Flight Research Center prior to completing its concluding 4.5-hour flight across California.

Endeavour holds a unique place in aerospace history as NASA's fifth and final shuttle built. Construction began on September 28, 1987, and the craft rolled out of its assembly plant in Palmdale, California, in April 1991. Because it was assembled in Southern California, local officials characterized its return to Los Angeles as a homecoming. The shuttle completed 25 space flights between 1992 and 2011 before being awarded to the California Science Center in 2011.

The transition from flight to display involved complex engineering. After landing on the southern most runway at LAX, Endeavour was hoisted off NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft—a modified Boeing 747—using cranes and wind restraints. It was moved into a United Airlines hangar for weeks of preparation before being transported through city streets. The shuttle is now set to open in its iconic vertical launch position inside the Samuel Oschin Gallery on November 13, 2026, standing as a 20-story monument to the science and technology of the program.

This exhibit was a long-term vision first conceived during the Science Center's planning in 1992. While it spent several years on horizontal display while its new gallery was constructed, the final vertical configuration is designed to inspire future generations by showcasing every stage of the shuttle's journey into space.

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