NASA maneuvers Endeavor’s 66,000 pound fuel tank through Los Angeles

In a feat of logistics akin to launching something into space, NASA has maneuvered the space shuttle Endeavor’s external fuel tank through the streets of Los Angles to its final resting place – the California Science Center.

The tank joined Endeavor at the science center, with the shuttle having been moved there in 2012. The two massive pieces of space hardware will be joined by two solid rocket boosters in order to create a fully-authentic space shuttle display, set to open in 2019.

The tank arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 18 after a five-week barge trip from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, which took it through the Panama Canal. Just after midnight on Saturday morning, a custom-built Mack truck hauled the fuel tank out from the parking lot at Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey, Calif. In a nod to New Orleans tradition, Science Center officials, astronauts, guests and a brass band formed a “second line” procession to follow the tank as it left the marina.

A spectacle for all

People lined the Los Angeles streets to watch the tank as it rolled by.

“This is huge…this is a huge tank,” onlooker Muchaka Zukinta told local TV station KTLA. “I didn’t think it was that big, but it’s bigger than I thought it was.”

During the 16-mile haul, the 154-foot-long, 32-foot-wide tank had to pause as power lines were raised and obstacles were cleared. The utilities were restored after the tank passed.

The tank arrived at about 6:15 p.m. local time, crossing a paper finish line made by the elementary school students at the on-site school. By 7 p.m., the tank was parked and waiting for the next step in preparations for the upcoming exhibit.

Officials used the parade as a fundraiser for the display. Signs attached to the external tank’s dolly urged spectators to text “ET94″ to 41444 to give to the space shuttle’s exhibit.

Identified by its assembly number, ET-94 was engineered to be launched but went unused. Rather, it became a test asset to confirm the adjustments made to the tanks after the loss of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.

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Image credit: AP

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