Space Shuttle Discovery Ready For Its Final Flight To Smithsonian

The space shuttle Discovery will make it's final flight tomorrow atop a special 747, traveling from the Kennedy Space Center to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Hanger at Dulles International Airport.  The Washington Post has a cool little animation today about the shuttle's final journey and how they got it on top of the 747 above.  On April 19th, they will tow the shuttle in to it's final resting place at the Udvar-Hazy Museum, as it replaces the space shuttle Enterprise which will be coming to New York City this summer for display at the USS Intrepid.  

I remember when they flew the Enterprise around the Beltway on it's journey to Dulles back in 1985 and I actually got to see it on top of the 747.  This time, though, NASA is not releasing the exact flight plan due to security concerns. It's too bad as it was so cool to see the shuttle flying, even if it was on the back of a 747.  I think it was extra exciting too because it was like a real life version of the opening scene from the James Bond film MOONRAKER, minus the disastrous fate of the 747 when the shuttle is fired up and stolen by the bad guys! That was awesome...if totally unrealistic.