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The Valley Is Kinda Bummed Endeavour Skipped It

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Can you think of anything not awesome about a shuttle being strapped on the back of a 747 and doing laps around L.A.? The Valley can.

You see, Endeavour saluted all the sexy local landmarks like the Getty Center, the Hollywood sign and City Hall—but then it totally forgot to salute its engine-builders on the other side of the Hollywood Hills. The folks especially bummed were the opinion writers over at The Daily News who were hoping that Endeavour would brave the Valley heat to meet (or at least fly directly over) its maker:


On its way to LAX -- and eventually the California Science Center in Exposition Park -- the space shuttle Endeavour will be flown low today over a series of state landmarks and facilities significant to the space program. One sad omission: Endeavour is not scheduled to pass near the heart of the San Fernando Valley and the Rocketdyne facility that served as a hub of the nation's aerospace industry.

The space shuttle program literally would not have gotten off the ground if not for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, whose thousands of smart, hard-working employees developed the shuttles' main engines (and Apollo's Saturn V rockets before that).


It's not that some folks in the Valley couldn't see it at all: Endeavour made a high pass over Universal Studios giving the Eastern side of the Valley a decent view. But Valley dwellers (particularly on the Western side) still felt left out. They responded not with outrage so much as resignation:

Related:
Hilarious Tweets About Endeavour's Flight Over L.A.
Photos: Space Shuttle Endeavour Soars Over Los Angeles
More Endeavour news

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