CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Space shuttle Discovery has one last mission to complete.
On Tuesday, the leader of NASA’s retired shuttle fleet will leave its home at Kennedy Space Center for the final time. It’s bolted atop a modified jumbo jet that’s parked on the old shuttle landing strip. At daybreak Tuesday, the jet will take off for the Washington, D.C., area. The plane and shuttle will make a farewell flight over Cape Canaveral before heading north.
Space center workers posed for pictures in front of Discovery on Monday. The six astronauts who flew Discovery’s final space trip a year ago also were on hand for the emotional tribute.
Discovery is the first of NASA’s three remaining space shuttles to head to a museum. It’s going to the Smithsonian Institution.
___
Online:
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
