Space Shuttle Discovery salutes Washington on historic final flight

Space Shuttle Discovery salutes Washington on historic final flight

As historic flights go, this has to be right up there with the best of 'em. Space Shuttle Discovery performed a final fly-by over the capital, and created a trail of excited spotters as it did so. Perched atop a Boeing 747, the iconic craft was flying at a relatively low 1,500 feet according to NASA. Pictures of the voyage have been popping up on social media and image sharing sites as it headed in from the west, before coming to its final resting place at a special off-shoot of the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport. Have you spotted Discovery? Be sure to add links in the comments if you do.

[Image credit: NASA]

Space Shuttle Discovery salutes Washington on historic final flight originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Space Shuttle Discovery to make final in-air appearance in 1,500-foot DC flyover

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Folks lucky enough to be in the nation's capital next week will have one final opportunity to gawk at Space Shuttle Discovery as the decommissioned spacecraft makes its way to its final resting place in Washington D.C. The shuttle is scheduled for a 1,500-foot flyover between 10 and 11 next Tuesday morning, passing over the National Mall and Reagan National Airport atop NASA's modified 747-100. The craft will then land at Dulles Airport before making a land-based journey to the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Center, where it will replace the Enterprise shuttle, which is destined for the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan. That prototype shuttle is scheduled to land in New York City a few days later on April 23rd, where it will touch down at JFK mounted to what's likely to be the same Shuttle Carrier Aircraft scheduled to make the Discover delivery in D.C., though there's sadly no word of a similar photo op in NYC.

Space Shuttle Discovery to make final in-air appearance in 1,500-foot DC flyover originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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