Video: NASA’s F/A18 Hornet extended view of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s flyover Southern California

The following video was filmed by one of the two NASA Dryden’s F/A-18 Hornet jets escorting the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop Boeing 747 SCA (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft), during its final flight from Edwards Air Force Base, to Los Angeles International Airport.

Along with the stunning footage, the video is particularly interesting because it includes air-to-air, air-to-ground radio communications with the ATC (Air Traffic Control) agencies interested by the flyby in SoCal, as well as intercom chats between the pilot and the backseater (a photographer) on board the Hornet chasing “Astro 95 Heavy” over Santa Monica, the most famous Los Angeles stadiums, the Universal Studios, Disneyland, Getty Center, SpaceX Center, USS Iowa, Griffith Observatory.

Noteworthy, some of the radio frequencies used during the flight were designated “Mission 1” or “Tac 1”.

Related Articles

• [Photo Gallery] Space Shuttle Endeavour final flight over Los Angeles as seen from NASA escort jets (theaviationist.com)
• Photo: An F-35A test aircraft flies over Space Shuttle Endeavour at Edwards Air Force Base (theaviationist.com)

About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.