Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, soars over the Californian coast near Ventura, on its way to Los Angeles - Source: Reuters

The space shuttle Endeavour was greeted by cheering crowds in Los Angeles today, as it ended a celebratory final flight en route to its retirement home at a Southern California science museum.

The 75-ton winged spaceship, ferried by a modified Boeing 747, landed at Los Angeles International Airport shortly before 1pm (6am NZT) after hop-scotching across the country from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and flying a victory lap over California.

Hundreds of office workers stood atop downtown skyscrapers, cheering as the shuttle banked low around the city as it arrived from its last stopover at Edwards Air Force Base, about 160 km north of the city in the Mojave desert.

"Let me be the first to say, welcome to Los Angeles, Endeavour," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during a ceremony on the tarmac.

The shuttle's arrival brought two major freeways leading to the Los Angeles airport to a standstill as drivers got out of their cars to watch the spacecraft make its final approach.

Tens of thousands more spectators, armed with photo and video cameras, had jammed into Griffith Park and Observatory and the surrounding area to catch a glimpse of Endeavour as it soared over the landmark Hollywood sign.

"It's the end of an era," said John Norman, 45, a technical manager from Los Angeles, who visited Kennedy Space Center in Florida to see Endeavour's final launch.

"It's just one of those boyhood dreams."

Applause and cheers rolled through the hills when the orbiter and its escort roared past three times, each pass closer than the one before.

Originally posted here:

Space shuttle Endevour home after final flight