Endeavour nosed out of Los Angeles International Airport before dawn as it began a two-day journey at 2 miles per hour atop a massive wheeled transporter to its retirement home at the California Science Center on the edge of downtown.

The shuttle flew from 1992 to 2011 and will go on public display after arriving at its destination. It was largely built in southern California and was a workhorse of the U.S. space program, flying on 25 missions. Shuffling a five-story-tall shuttle through urban streets was an undertaking that took nearly a year to plan. Because the 78-foot wingspan hangs over sidewalks in some locations, police enforced rolling street and sidewalk closures along the route.

The limited access frustrated some businesses that counted on huge crowds lining the curbs to boost business.

Saturday is typically the busiest day for James Fugate, who co-owns Eso Won Books in South Los Angeles. But with Endeavour expected to pass through, Fugate braced for a ho-hum day in sales.

"We don't close because we're slow. That's when you pull out a book to read," he said.

The baby of the shuttle fleet, Endeavour replaced Challenger, which exploded during liftoff in 1986, killing seven astronauts. It thundered off the launch pad 25 times, orbited Earth nearly 4,700 times and racked up 123 million miles.