Endeavour Completes Mission 26

Space Shuttle Endeavour has logged in nearly 123 million flight miles and orbited the earth almost 4700 times since its initial flight in May 1992.

During that same year on September 12, 1992, Dr. Mae C. Jemison became the first Black woman astronaut to travel into outer space.  Dr. Jemison was a Science Mission Specialist aboard Endeavour conducting various experiments including the crew’s reaction to weightlessness and motion sickness.

On September 21, 2012 Endeavour “lifted off” ferried atop a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Edwards Air Force Base.  The base also served as a landing destination after completion of several space missions. Accompanied by a fighter jet chaser, Endeavour ceremonial “flyovers” included Palmdale (where the shuttle began construction at Plant 42), Lancaster, Rosamond, Mojave, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Long Beach CA.

October 12, 2012 marked Mission 26 for Endeavour making its final journey on the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles to the California Science Museum. Spectators lined the streets and had their cameras on cue to capture this moment in history.   Endeavour completed Mission 26 on Sunday, October 14 and will be on display to the public beginning October 30.   For more info contact the California Science Museum.