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Endeavour takes final curtain call over San Francisco Bay (pictures)

Piggybacking on a Boeing 747, the space shuttle tours the San Francisco Bay Area Friday enroute to its finally destination, the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

James Martin
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
James Martin
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1 of 12 James Martin/CNET

Space shuttle Endeavour buzzes over the bay

After traveling 122.88 million miles on 25 missions to space, the space shuttle Endeavor traveled through California today on a fairwell tour to the delight of thousands of people who came out for the low-altitude flyby.

Leaving from Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California this morning, the modified 747 -- with Endeavour bolted to its back -- headed north to Sacramento, and then west towards San Francisco where it made two passes around the bay.

At NASA Ames Reseach Center in Mountain View, Calif., an estimated 20,000 people came out and for a viewing on NASA's home turf, where astronauts and engineers who had worked on Endeavor over the years were on hand to give personal accounts of their time with the shuttle.
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2 of 12 James Martin/CNET

Hangar 1 flyby at Ames

NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with Endeavour securely mounted on top is seen passing by Hangar 1 at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View.
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3 of 12 James Martin/CNET

Looking skyward

A visitor to NASA Ames Research Center snaps a photo of the immense crowd that gathered to watch the shuttle pass overhead.
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4 of 12 James Martin/CNET

Crowd of 20,000

NASA estimates that 15,000 people came out to Ames see the shuttle off on Friday.
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5 of 12 James Martin/CNET

And it's gone

The shuttle came in low at NASA Ames, just a few hundred feet off the ground. It came into view only at the last second from behind Hangar 1, and then it was gone.
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6 of 12 James Martin/CNET

Flying into history

The shuttle and its carrier can be seen in the distance to the left of the control tower at NASA Ames Research Center as it leaves following a low flyby of the airfield in Mountain View, Calif.

At around 1 p.m. (PT) Friday, the shuttle landed at Los Angeles International Airport where it will be taken off the 747 and transported to its permanent home at the California Science Center next month.
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7 of 12 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Turning over the San Francisco Bay

Space shuttle Endeavour makes a turn over the San Francisco Bay Friday during its farewell tour of California.
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8 of 12 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Marin headlands

The SCA-Endeavour combo lifted off Edwards' Runway 04R at about 8:17 a.m. PT this morning. It began its California tour with low-level flyovers of the communities of Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosamond, California City, and Mojave before heading north to Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. Here we see the shuttle above the Marin headlands just north of San Francisco.
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9 of 12 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Shuttle and the Golden Gate Bridge

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Endeavour aboard passed by the Golden Gate Bridge Friday.
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10 of 12 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Endeavour fly-by

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Endeavour aboard passed by the Golden Gate Bridge Friday.
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11 of 12 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Endeavour over the Bay

Space shuttle Endeavour over the San Francisco Bay Friday.
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12 of 12 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Endeavour over the Bay

Space shuttle Endeavour over the San Francisco Bay Friday.

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