The space shuttle Endeavour's hatch will be opened by NASA technicians one last time this week, in part to retrieve thousands of souvenir patches and a photo the retired orbiter's final flown cargo.

Endeavour, which is now temporarily parked in a United Airlines hangar at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), is being prepared for its delivery to the California Science Center (CSC) for display. The shuttle, piggybacking atop a NASA jumbo jet, landed at LAX on Friday (Sept. 21) after a three-day cross-country ferry flight and four-hour flyover of the Golden State.

Just a few days before Endeavour left NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the final time, the space agency fulfilled a request by the CSC and stowed a care package on the shuttle's mid-deck inside its crew compartment. Stored in a locker, the pouch was flown with the orbiter on its recent ferry flight, which marked the last time a space shuttle ever took to the air.

Over the course of its 25 missions to space, Endeavour flew numerous significant payloads, including equipment to service and upgrade the Hubble Telescope, Spacelab and Spacehab modules, and the components to assemble the International Space Station. [Photos: Shuttle Endeavour's California Sightseeing Tour]

Endeavour's final cargo, carried on what the CSC dubbed "Mission 26: The Big Endeavour," may be more memento than mission-critical, but it still served a purpose: to say thank you.

25:123:12

The California Science Center flew 5,000 woven patches aboard Endeavour featuring a design that celebrated both of the modes of transport responsible for delivering the shuttle to its new display pavilion.

The 4.5-inch wide (11.4 centimeters) colorful badges depict Endeavour soaring on top of NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) and riding the self-propelled overland transporter that will take it on its road trip to the CSC. Endeavour is set to depart LAX and travel through Inglewood and Los Angeles city streets on Oct. 12-13 as the final leg of "Mission 26."

The numbers "25:123:12" are inscribed along the top of the patches. The "25" is for Endeavour's 25 missions to space and the "123" represents the 123 million miles (198 million kilometers) the orbiter traveled in flight. The "12" refers to the number of miles the shuttle will travel on the road to the science center.

While black-bordered versions of the patches are already for sale in the CSC's gift shop, the flown patches which are set apart by their gold thread border will not be sold. Instead, say science center officials, they will be given to those who made "Mission 26" possible: team members who worked on the ferry flight and the upcoming overland transport, as well as the center's donors who helped fund Endeavour's temporary and permanent exhibits.

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Space Shuttle Endeavour Made Final Flight Packed with Souvenir Patches