Space shuttle Discovery took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday morning atop a modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, bound for Washington, D.C.
Discovery and the modified aircraft departed on time at 7:00 a.m. and flew low over the Kennedy vicinity before heading north to Washington, D.C. area, for the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.
Discovery leaves the Kennedy Space Center after more than 28 years of service beginning with its arrival on the space coast Nov. 9, 1983 to begin processing for its first launch Aug. 30, 1984.
The flight duration to Washington is expected to take about 3 1/2 hours, which includes the local fly-bys on each end of the trip.
A NASA C-9 “Pathfinder” (DC-9) and T-38 training jets will accompany the Ferry Flight to Washington, D.C.
