Discovery goes to Washington DC
The
list of missions that Discovery has completed is impressive.
Among those is of course the launch of the Hubble Space
Telescope. It is for this reason that the Smithsonian
institution
requested this Shuttle in particular when they were announced for
retirement.
NASA announced that Discovery would be arriving
in the DC area on 4/17/2012, and that it would be flying low to allow a
good view by the public. We had initially intended to see the
flight at Dullus, where it would land, but then it was announced that
there would be a flyover at NASA/Goddard. No doubt this
special
pass was a tribute to the many payloads that were built here.
We
decided to see the pass with our friends and coworkers at Goddard.
Super wide view of the scene at NASA Goddard were we were eagerly
anticipatingAfter
the flyover, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (a 747 jumbo) landed at
Dullus International, and they taxied to an area where Discovery was
lifted off from the carrier. Two days later, a ceremony was
scheduled where she would arrive at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Annex
(UH). By then, the Shuttle Enterprise (which has only flown
in
atmosphere during a glide test),
had
been pulled out, and was awaiting the arrival of her big
sister.
Arrival at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Museum