NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with space shuttle Discovery mounted atop flew above various parts of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Naval Research Laboratory, on Tuesday, April 17.
The flight, in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, was covered live by NASA Television and the agency's web site.
The aircraft flew near a variety of landmarks in the metropolitan area, including the National Mall, Reagan National Airport, National Harbor and the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center. After the flyover, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft landed at Dulles International Airport.
Discovery completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will
transfer Discovery To the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers.