Saying goodbye to the Discovery

The Space Shuttle Discovery is en route from Kennedy Space Center to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar/Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport. The oldest surviving shuttle, Discovery holds the all-time record with 39 missions, 148 million miles, 5,830 orbits of Earth, and 365 days spent in space. All that was achieved in under 27 years.

Published: April 17, 2012

The Space Shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, flies over Washington skyline, including the Washington Monument, as seen from a NASA T-38 aircraft, Tuesday, April 17, 2012. Discovery, the longest-serving orbiter will be placed to its new home, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Robert Markowitz,NASA/AP Photo

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