Endeavour will begin the final leg of its final journey at Los Angeles International Airport. It will then take a 12-mile trip along city streets to the California Science Center.

But even before the trip starts it's already causing a lot of controversy.

Hundreds of trees throughout the city are being taken out to make room for the space shuttle.

Along the route, Endeavour will pass famous Los Angeles landmarks like Randy's Donuts and it will pass over the infamous 405 freeway. It can't go on the freeway because it's too big to fit under freeway overpasses.

Its first stop will be in the city of Inglewood, where more than 130 trees already have been cut down. The mayor says it's a good deal for the city.

It's not just trees that are being removed, they're also having to temporarily take out stoplights, raise power lines and install brand new poles.

As the shuttle makes a right turn on Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, it will enter the historic neighborhood of Leimert Park.

The neighborhood is lined with scores of beautiful trees. Many of the local residents are very upset that many of them will be cut down for the shuttle.

The California Science Center is paying to move the shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles. The center says it will leave a trail of improvements, including two new trees planted for every one that is cut down. It says the ultimate benefit will be a tourist attraction that literally has been out of this world.

NASA has announced the shuttle's three-day, cross country trip will begin on September 17 from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It will be transported on the back of a modified 747.

Endeavour made its first trip to space on May 7, 1992. It replaced Challenger.

CNN