Space shuttle to make 12-mile trek on L.A. streets

In its 25 missions spanning nearly two decades, the space shuttle Endeavour circled the Earth more than 4,600 times, spending a total of 299 days in space.

It carried the crews that assembled the first U.S. component of the International Space Station, and would go on to dock at the station a dozen times. By the time Endeavour completed its last mission a year ago, the shuttle had logged nearly 123 million miles beyond Earth.

But the shuttle's final journey — a measly 12 miles — might just be its most memorable.

Officials Wednesday unveiled some of the details surrounding the 170,000-pound shuttle's carefully coordinated move from Florida's Kennedy Space Center to its permanent home at the California Science Center in Exposition Park. After arriving at LAX on the back of a Boeing 747, the shuttle will make a two-day trek through the streets of Los Angeles, the first time a space shuttle has been moved through the heart of a city....