Story highlights Space shuttle Endeavour to depart at dawn Thursday on the next leg of its journey

Endeavour landed in Houston earlier Wednesday, ending first stage of its cross-country flight

After a weather delay, NASA gave the green light for Endeavour to depart Florida

The shuttle's piggyback flight atop a jumbo jet to Los Angeles will conclude Friday

The space shuttle Endeavour began its final aerial show on Wednesday, thrilling spectators across the southern United States before completing the first stage of its transcontinental voyage in Houston.

After a two-day delay due to unfavorable weather, Endeavour began its flight from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Los Angeles, where the now-retired spacecraft will be displayed.

Endeavour, along with Discovery, Enterprise and Atlantis, became a museum piece after NASA ended its 30-year shuttle program in July 2011.

Two other shuttles -- Challenger and Columbia -- were destroyed in accidents that killed all aboard. Challenger exploded shortly after launch in 1986, and Columbia broke apart upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in 2003.

JUST WATCHED Touring space shuttle Endeavour Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Touring space shuttle Endeavour 02:04

Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, goes by the Washington Monument during a flyover of the nation's capital on its trip to retirement Tuesday, April 17. The flight -- the last time Discovery will be aloft -- took it from Florida's Kennedy Space Center to the Washington area, where it will spend retirement as a museum piece at an annex to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia, near Dulles International Airport. Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Discovery and its 747 jumbo jet carrier pass over the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly, Virginia, on Tuesday. The shuttle will be removed from the modified jet and star as the guest of honor at a four-day celebration punctuated by a ceremony Thursday formally welcoming Discovery to the Smithsonian collection. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – The 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, carrying Discovery, prepares to land at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday in Chantilly, Virginia. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Discovery flies over the National Mall on Tuesday as it arrives from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The space shuttle Enterprise, which has been on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center since 1985, will be moved to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Schoolchildren on a tour watch as Discovery flies over the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Discovery makes a low pass over the Washington, D.C., area before its final landing Tuesday. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – An aspiring astronaut poses in the parking lot of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on Tuesday in Chantilly. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Discovery flies over the National Mall before being retired at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – People gather to watch the arrival of Discovery at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on Tuesday in Chantilly. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – iReporter Jon Rosiska took this shot at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Shuttle Discovery flies past the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Special guests watch the Discovery's arrival from the observation deck of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on Tuesday in Chantilly. Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Shuttle Discovery lands at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Spectators watch as Discovery passes over the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on Tuesday. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement – Alvin Drew, left, Nicole Stott, Mike Barratt, Steve Bowen, Eric Boe and Steve Lindsey of STS-133, Discovery's last crew, pose for a photo at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday, April 16. Hide Caption 15 of 15

JUST WATCHED Endeavour shuttle piggybacks 747 Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Endeavour shuttle piggybacks 747 01:19

Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – A barge carries the Space Shuttle Enterprise past the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor on Wednesday, June 6. The shuttle is on its way to the USS Intrepid Museum, where it will be on display aboard the former aircraft carrier. Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – Boats surround the Enterprise as it makes its way up the Hudson River. The shuttle was flown into JFK on the back of a 747 on April 27. Hide Caption 2 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – The Enterprise is seen from a busy New York street as it is carried up the river Wednesday. Hide Caption 3 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – The final leg of the shuttle's journey to the USS Intrepid Museum was scheduled for Tuesday but delayed because of bad weather. Hide Caption 4 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – The shuttle passes by the New York skyline on Wednesday. Hide Caption 5 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – The Enterprise will be hoisted by crane onto the flight deck of the Intrepid. Hide Caption 6 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – NASA's space shuttle program ended last year, 30 years after it began. The Enterprise was never launched into space. Hide Caption 7 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – Enterprise floats head-on toward the Intrepid Sea. Hide Caption 8 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – A giant crane carefully swings the Enterprise from the barge that transported it down the Hudson River toward the Intrepid. Hide Caption 9 of 10 Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple – The Enterprise is carefully lowered onto the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, its final resting place. Hide Caption 10 of 10

Endeavour's three-day piggyback flight atop a modified jumbo jet is divided into three legs that could be described as scenic routes to showcase the shuttle to the public.

NASA expects Endeavour to draw crowds of onlookers as the Boeing 747 plots a course over space centers in at least five states and makes stops along the way.

The flying duo will dip to about 1,500 feet at many points, to afford a better view to spectators on the ground.

"Social media users are encouraged to share their Endeavour sightings using the hashtags #spottheshuttle and #OV105, Endeavour's orbiter vehicle designation," NASA said.

Wednesday's leg took Endeavour to Houston, with flyovers along Florida's Space Coast, Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

As Endeavour bid farewell to Kennedy Space Center, it elicited strong emotions from people, such as CNN iReporter Randy Lathrop of Cocoa, Florida, who have lived with the shuttle program nearby for decades.

"It's the last time that she'll ever be at her home base again. It strikes a chord of nostalgia in you because she's done so many flights from the space center. This is her home," he said.

NASA says that on Thursday, Endeavour is scheduled to depart Houston at dawn and then make a make a fueling stop at Biggs Army Air Field in El Paso before proceeding to Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

On Friday, Endeavour will embark on a tour of Northern California, dipping over NASA's Ames Research Center, Sacramento and San Francisco before heading back to Los Angeles, where it will become an exhibit at the California Science Center.

Named for the first ship commanded by British explorer James Cook, Endeavour rolled off the assembly plant in Palmdale, California, in 1991 at a cost of $1.7 billion. It was the baby of the shuttle fleet, built as a replacement for Challenger.

Over the next 20 years, Endeavour flew some of the most high-profile shuttle missions, covering 25 flights and nearly 123 million miles. It flew a Spacelab mission and numerous International Space Station assembly missions and rendezvoused with Russia's Mir Space Station.