The shuttle Endeavour flew over Tucson Thursday morning, prompting thousands of people across the city to pull out cameras and cellphones to document a piece of its farewell voyage across the country.
Among the onlookers were former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her ex-astronaut husband Mark Kelly, who went into space twice on the ship and was commander of its final mission in May.
NASA made the Tucson flyover in honor of the couple, who watched the Endeavour's piggy-back ride on a modified jet from the top of a parking garage at the University of Arizona.
The Tucson portion of the shuttle's trip lasted only a few minutes beginning at 11:15 a.m. and Endeavour landed safely on its way to retirement in a Los Angeles museum.
On StarNet: Go to azstarnet.com/gallery for more photos of the shuttle Endeavour over Tucson and see video of the flyover at azstarnet.com/video
Did you know?
A song by Tucson band Calexico was used to wake up the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour during its final mission that was led by Mark Kelly in May. The song, "Slowness," is about two people reaching across a distance, and references places in the Tucson area including Gates Pass and Signal Hill.
Source: Star news archives
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