The crew carefully guides the space shuttle Endeavour into its new home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 14. Endeavour completed a 12-mile journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the science center where it will go on permanent public display.
Los Angeles (CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour's journey of 123 million miles ended Sunday afternoon when it rolled into its final resting place at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where it will go on public display later this month.
It took more than two days for the shuttle to inch its way across the 12 miles from the Los Angeles International Airport to the science center, navigating around trees and light poles along the narrow path.
Dozens of trees were cut down and traffic signs removed to make room for the Endeavour, but in other cases the shuttle's self-propelled mobile transporter, capable of turning the shuttle 360 degrees, helped the big white bird to zigzag its way around the obstacles.
Now, after 25 space missions in its 22-year career, Endeavour will be parked in a display pavilion built just for the shuttle.
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"Mission 26: Mission accomplished!" said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
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He praised the more than 1,000 police officers and more than 200 firefighters who helped the shuttle maneuver through the city, and the hundreds of thousands who came out for the spectacle.
Science center President Jeff Rudolph said everyone along the route was positive and encouraging.
"Mr. Mayor, I may get kicked for it, but it was the mother of all parades," he joked, but Villaraigosa agreed.
The shuttle's trek to the science center was initially expected to end Saturday night, but obstacles and a mechanical issue slowed it down, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Rudy Lopez.
As Endeavour neared the science center it had to travel down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, lined with Canary Island pine trees dedicated to the late civil rights leader that officials did not want to cut down.
As if to remind the world it was designed for precision, the shuttle moved so carefully past the trees that at certain points, the distance between the orbiter's wing and the tree was the width of a credit card, said Shell Amega, spokeswoman for the California Science Center Foundation.
Specialists were part of the convoy to make sure the Endeavour and its transporter platform, which together weigh more than 80 tons, didn't stress underground water and sewer systems. Crews laid 2,700 steel plates on parts of the route.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Brian Cummings said the shuttle's "seamless" procession allowed everyone to feel like an astronaut.
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Gwendolyn Crews, owner of a preschool, told CNN she was bringing her entire preschool to watch the Endeavour's arrival at the museum.
"I think this is a history-making moment here in Los Angeles, California, and I want to be able to share this with my kids, my grandkids, my great-grandkids ... and the children of our school," Crews said.
Villaraigosa called the shuttle's trip through the city a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Latasha Covington and her children, 9-year-old Skilyn and 4-year-old Amarie, brought a chair out Saturday to stand on to get a better view.
"I've been here 32 years in L.A. and I've never seen anything like this, so it's part of history. I wanted them to see that," Covington said.
The respect was a fitting tribute to the shuttle, which was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in May 1991.
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NASA ended the shuttle program in July 2011. Endeavour's fellow shuttles Discovery, Enterprise and Atlantis are also now museum pieces.
Named for the first ship commanded by British explorer James Cook, Endeavour cost $1.7 billion when it rolled out as a replacement for Challenger, which exploded shortly after its 10th launch.
Over the next 20 years, Endeavour completed some of the highest-profile shuttle missions. It flew a Spacelab mission and numerous International Space Station assembly missions and rendezvoused with Russia's Mir Space Station.
The science museum has been trumpeting the arrival of the shuttle. The museum's foundation raised more than $10 million to fund the transportation of the shuttle to the center, Amega said, and is halfway toward its goal of raising $200 million to support the exhibit that opens October 30.
The museum will display the shuttle horizontally in the pavilion while it builds a new addition to its facility, the Air and Space Center. When that center opens in five years, the shuttle will be on display in its vertical launch position.
Read more space and science news on CNN's Light Years blog
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CNN's Melissa Gray and Josh Levs in Atlanta and Michael Martinez in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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Federico Gonzales is among the many spectators as Endeavour inches down Martin Luther King Boulevard in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Doreen Andreotti photographs the space shuttle Sunday as it nears the end of its journey.
The sun rises as the space shuttle Endeavour slowly moves along Martin Luther King Boulevard to the California Science Center on Sunday.
The space shuttle Endeavour makes its way down a city street under heavy escort on Saturday, October 13.
A man takes a picture from a rooftop as Endeavour makes its way toward the California Science Center on Saturday.
People take photos from cherry pickers Saturday as the shuttle moves along Crenshaw Drive in Inglewood, California.
A 4-year-old named Levi watches Endeavour make its way down a city street on Saturday.
People watch the shuttle creep along the street on Saturday from their apartment balcony and roof.
Inglewood High School cheerleaders perform near the shuttle on Saturday.
A crowd gathers to take pictures of Endeavour passing through Inglewood on Saturday.
The space shuttle Endeavour passes a "Shuttle crossing" sign on its way to the California Science Center on Saturday in Inglewood, California.
People watch Endeavour pass residential buildings on Crenshaw Drive. Over two days, the 170,000-pound shuttle will travel at no more than 2 mph along a 12-mile route from Los Angeles International Airport to its final home.
Kevin Alcaraz, 8, waves a flag from the crowd gathered along the shuttle's route.
Endeavour creeps down Crenshaw Drive.
Endeavour passes a downed road sign.
People watch as the shuttle makes its way up a narrow street.
A boy holds a model of Endeavour as the real thing rolls past.
A worker accompanies the space shuttle Endeavour along Manchester Boulevard.
Endeavour is on its last mission: a 12-mile creep through city streets, past an eclectic mix of strip malls, mom-and-pop shops, tidy lawns and faded apartment buildings.
Mikael Ector, 2, tries to get some rest as his dad, Michael Ector, checks out Endeavour as it arrives at the Forum on Saturday.
Amir Morris, 3, wears an astronaut costume while holding an American flag as the space shuttle crawls past.
Endeavour makes a turn at an intersection.
Endeavour squeezes through a neighborhood lined with apartment buildings on the narrowest part of its journey on Saturday.
Endeavour passes between traffic lights with just a few inches to spare.
Road blocks preceed Endeavour on its journey to the California Science Center.
A detail of the tiles on the underside of Endeavour as it arrives at the Forum.
A plane flies over the space shuttle Endeavour as it is moved to the California Science Center on Saturday.
Work crews set up a "Shuttle Xing" sign on Saturday.
People watch as the craft arrives at The Forum on its way to the California Science Center on Saturday.
Amir Morris, 3, holds an American flag as the shuttle passes by in Inglewood on Saturday.
The space shuttle Endeavour is transported to The Forum arena for a stopover and celebration on Saturday.
People watch as the space shuttle slowly moves along Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood on Saturday.
Crowds look on as Endeavour is transported to The Forum arena before sunrise on Saturday.
Workers talk as the shuttle moves along Manchester Boulevard on Saturday.
Endeavour is expected to arrive late Saturday at the California Science Center, where it will be put on permanent display.
The space shuttle Endeavour is transported to the California Science Center in Exposition Park from Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, October 12, in Los Angeles.
Endeavour moves down a main road lined with onlookers. Endeavour was flown cross-country atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to LAX on September 21.
Workers escort Endeavour on its journey.
Completed in 1991, Endeavour was built to replace the space shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated 73 seconds after take-off in 1986. This fifth and final space shuttle orbiter circled the Earth 4,671 times and traveled nearly 123 million miles during its 25 missions from 1992 to 2011.
Endeavour passes businesses and crowds on its way to permanent display at the California Science Center.
Endeavour makes its way past restaurants and shopping centers in Los Angeles.
Spectators come to watch the space shuttle Endeavour as it rests at Westchester Square during its final ground journey in Los Angeles on Friday.
A dog joins the crowd turned out to see Endeavour on Friday.
The space shuttle Endeavour is parked in a mall parking lot on its way to the California Science Center.
Spectators take pictures of Endeavour during its journey through Los Angeles.
People pose with a street sign that was removed to make way for the space shuttle Endeavour during its transport from LAX to the California Science Center.
Workers check the space shuttle Endeavour as it rests at Westchester Square on Friday.
People get a close view of the space shuttle Endeavour in a misty rain during a break in its journey on Friday.
Tree trimmers cut large branches of a tree that was protruding toward the street in a last-minute effort to clear hurdles along the space shuttle Endeavour's route on Friday.
Spectators crowd for a view of Endeavour as it passes through Los Angeles on Friday.
CNN iReporter Wes Smith and other space enthusiasts got a close-up view of the space shuttle Endeavour early Friday as it makes its final journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the 
Computer-controlled transporters help move Endeavour across Los Angeles International Airport early Friday.
Spectators take pictures of the shuttle Friday at the Los Angeles airport. Once it reaches the science museum, the shuttle will be on display for posterity. It had its first launch in 1992.
Bystanders watch as Endeavour moves out of the Los Angeles airport and onto a public street.
Members of the crowd reach over a fence for a glimpse of the shuttle. Endeavour, along with Discovery, Enterprise and Atlantis, became a museum piece after NASA ended its 30-year shuttle program last year. All four shuttles have been permanently retired from service.
Firefighters and other spectators document the move early Friday.
Fan Vivian Robinson rides her bicycle covered in shuttle memorabilia, American flags and an alien doll outside the Los Angeles airport as she waits to see Endeavour.
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