The space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to leave Houston early Thursday after giving locals a brief glimpse of what might have been.
Hundreds lined the streets and crowded the airport Wednesday to see the retired shuttle land before it was to head to California, where it will be permanently displayed.
That doesn't sit well with many Houston residents, who feel Space City was cheated out of an artifact.
Space City has long tied its fortune to a mix of oil and NASA. It's where astronauts train, and many call it home after they retire.
Houston's bid for a shuttle was rejected after the White House retired the fleet last summer.
Houston instead got a replica that used to be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center.
