Space shuttle Endeavour's journey from Florida's Space Coast to southern California began early Wednesday when the future museum piece left Kennedy Space Center on the back of a modified Boeing 747. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the space center to watch the final ferry flight of the shuttle, which will make a homecoming when it arrives Friday in Southern California, following a stop near Houston. More spectators watched from beaches along Florida's Space Coast as the shuttle carrier soared above en route to flyovers of Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force Base. The carrier aircraft touched down at Ellington Field southeast of Houston at about 8:40 a.m. It will depart Houston Thursday morning, and after a night at Edwards Air Force Base and flyovers over San Francisco and Sacramento, it will head for the California Science Center via Los Angeles International Airport on Friday. The shuttle was part of 25 missions into space, spending 299 days in orbit and circling the Earth 4,671 times, traveling nearly 122.9 million miles, according to NASA.
