Weather delays last flight of space shuttle Endeavour to museum

MIAMI | Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:00pm EDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - The departure of the space shuttle Endeavour on its final flight to a Los Angeles museum has been delayed until Wednesday by bad weather, NASA said.

Endeavour, which was retired last year, was scheduled to travel piggyback on top of a specially modified 747 jet, but storms along the planned flight path have pushed back its departure from the Kennedy Space Center until Wednesday.

It was the second delay caused by weather in transporting the shuttle, which was originally intended to depart on Monday.

NASA said Endeavour is now expected to arrive on Friday in Los Angeles, where it will go on display at the California Science Center on October 30.

On its trip, Endeavour is expected make a low pass over the beachside communities surrounding the Kennedy Space Center before heading west. It will make additional flyovers near NASA facilities in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Endeavour was built as a replacement for the shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed in an accident that killed seven astronauts in 1986.

Endeavour's lifespan was relatively short by shuttle standards - 25 missions over 20 years, totaling 299 days in space.

(Reporting by Kevin Gray; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/20egJGY_H9A/us-space-shuttle-idUSBRE88F0C520120918

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