Space Shuttle Endeavour, Long Beach – 21 SEP 2012

Rob, Todd and I spent over 2 hours sitting in the sun on Rainbow Bridge in Long Beach for the 10 second thrill of seeing this sight:
The space shuttle Endeavour making it’s final flight on top of a Boeing 747 on it’s way to LAX and its final home at the California Space Center in historic Exposition Park.
NASA Photo
It was the fifth and final NASA space shuttle and made 25 missions (1992 - 2011) to outer space. During seven of those missions it landed in California at Edwards Air Force Base.
NASA Photo
The above image was taken shortly before it docked at the International Space Station, by one of the crewmembers of Expedition 15.
This is the NASA Orbiter Tribute for the Space Shuttle Endeavour, named after the ship in which Captain James Cook took his first voyage (1768 -1771).

Seven years later, I finally made it to the California Science Center to see the Endeavour in it's new home. Link to Endeavour 2019