The best images from Space Shuttle Endeavour

Some 20 years after its first mission, Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final journey today, Tuesday, 18 September. Though retired from space flight for just over a year, the space shuttle travelled with the aid of a specially modified Boeing 747 jet from NASA'€™s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, to a permanent resting place on show at the California Science center.

Created following the tragic Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, Endeavour was the fifth and final shuttle built as part of NASA's shuttle program. The craft successfully completed 25 missions to space, and was able to capture some truly breathtaking images along the way.

Click through our gallery to discover 50 of the best images of Endeavor and its missions.

* Video: Endeavour gets a lift to L.A.
* Video: 400 trees cut down for shuttle arrival