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Discovery Makes Final Voyage To D.C. Museum

Catherine Green |
April 17, 2012 | 9:17 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 

Space Shuttle Discovery at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in June 2006 (Ken Thornsley/NASA)
Space Shuttle Discovery at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in June 2006 (Ken Thornsley/NASA)
The retired Discovery orbiter made its final flight, albeit on piggyback, Tuesday morning, to move into its new Washington D.C. home inside the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

The Los Angeles Times reported the overhead sight of the space ship atop a modified 747 caused quite a stir in the nation's capital.

From The Times:

Crowds gathered on the National Mall, office workers peered out windows and motorists pulled to the side of the road to catch a glimpse of the retired Discovery orbiter, which made a sweep of the capital region, over the monuments, before landing at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.

"There was cheering and applause across the Mall,"  someone tweeted on #spottheshuttle.

At the U.S. Capitol, Adrienne Watson,  an aide to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), said that a cheer arose from the congressional staffers who ran outside to see it.

"Folks were pretty excited.  It was a pretty special moment and a great show," she said.

It was such an event that the Mid-Atlantic AAA issued a warning to motorists: "Don’t let anyone or anything — even a space shuttle overhead — distract you" and "For safe shuttle-spotting, pull off the road and park your car."

L.A. is due to get its own piece of NASA history when the Endeavor arrives this fall. The space ship will be flown in from Kennedy Space Center with the help of another 747, and will be driven through the streets to the California Science Center in Exposition Park.

 

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