Space Shuttle Discovery: Flying Atop Aircraft

The Space Shuttle Discovery hitched a ride on NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for the flight from the Dryden Flight Research Center in California, to Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 19, 2005. Discovery, the longest-serving and most flown of all the shuttles, will be welcomed into the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum collection in similar fashion on April 19, 2012 at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, where it will go on permanent display.

Image Number: WEB12254-2012