That’s a question The Girlfriend has repeatedly asked me in the last few years, since the impending end of the shuttle program revived my boyhood obsession with these vehicles. But no matter what statistics or comparisons I’ve thrown out in reply — 78-foot wingspan, about the same overall size as a DC-9 airliner — she just hasn’t been to get a handle on it. And I imagine she’s not alone in this… a big spacecraft is just too outside her usual frames of reference, and it’s tough to imagine the scale of something you’ve never stood beside. But I think I may have found a visual aid that will finally put it all in perspective for her and all the rest of my Loyal Readers who just can’t quite grok the size of the thing we used to throw up into space on a somewhat regular schedule:

That’s the Endeavour, of course, seen Friday during her 12-mile parade through Los Angeles on her way from LAX to the California Science Center. Moving the big old girl has taken a bit longer than originally planned, due to obstacles along the way. Reportedly there have been places where her wingtips came within inches of trees or utility poles. But the last I heard, she was within sight of her new home and continuing to inch her way along, with thousands of people out to see the spectacle of a retired spacecraft rolling down city streets.

Not to be cynical, but I wonder how many of those folks showed equal enthusiasm for the shuttles while they were still flying…

Photo credit: Walter Scriptunas II/Spaceflight Now; taken from here.