Space shuttle Endeavour tank begins trek to Los Angeles museum

LOS ANGELES — A massive space shuttle external propellant tank is squeezing through the streets of Los Angeles to join a display of the retired orbiter Endeavour at the California Science Center.

The big move began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and is expected to take 13 to 18 hours to squeeze down 16½ miles of streets, avenues and boulevards from Marina del Rey on the coast to the center in Exposition Park near downtown.

The tank's trek was expected to be not quite as difficult as when the 122-foot-long Endeavour, with a wingspan of 78 feet, was similarly hauled 12 miles to the center from Los Angeles International Airport. Although longer — 154 feet — the 65,000-pound external tank is much narrower than the shuttle with a diameter of 27.5 feet.