As Endeavour exhibit reopens in LA, NASA photographers recall its 2012 flyover

NASA published a photo retrospective on Endeavour's final ferry flight to Los Angeles and said the shuttle's new home at the California Science Center will reopen the weekend of Nov. 13, with Endeavour displayed upright in launch position.

The agency said two photographers and one videographer, all based at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, documented the Sept. 21, 2012 flight atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft: lead videographer Lori Losey, lead photographer Jim Ross and photographer Carla Thomas. Agency pilots planned the route across California landmarks, and the imaging team worked out how to capture it.

“Chasing Endeavour’s final ferry flight over Southern California was, without a doubt, a leading highlight of my 37-year career at NASA,” Losey said. Ross said, “The most fun thing about this project was seeing the excitement of the people on the ground as we flew over the different landmarks.” “The planning was my favorite part of this effort,” Thomas said, adding that “it was fun and exciting to plan the shots.” She said she flew the entire route with the Los Angeles Police Department in one of its helicopters.

NASA said the flight path included Dodger Stadium, the Getty Center, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, the Golden Gate Bridge, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and the Santa Monica Pier, and the carrier also passed over the State Capitol in Sacramento and Disneyland. NASA Armstrong F/A-18s and an F-15 escorted the shuttle with the photo and video teams in the back seats, after preplanning with the California Science Center, the Federal Aviation Administration, Los Angeles International Airport and NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Endeavour helped begin assembly of the International Space Station and completed 25 missions. NASA said the shuttle will be seen, along with some of the images from the final flight, in its permanent home inside the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center.

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