Having last traveled to low Earth orbit in March 2011, NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery took to the skies one last time yesterday, piggybacking on a modified Boeing 747. The shuttle left Florida and landed just outside of Washington, D.C., where it will join the collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Discovery, the fleet leader of NASA's orbiters, flew 39 successful missions over 27 years, accumulating 365 total days in space. Tomorrow, a welcome ceremony is planned at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Gathered here are images from Discovery's last flight.
NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transports the space shuttle Discovery to its new home, after departing from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on April 17, 2012. The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet that was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. (NASA/Lorne Mathre)
Discovery executes a three-point turnaround outside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, readying for its trip to the Shuttle Landing Facility, on April 14, 2012. A tail cone has been installed over its three replica shuttle main engines to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its upcoming ferry flight. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)
At the Shuttle Landing Facility, operations are under way at the mate-demate device to lift Discovery on top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, on April 14, 2012. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)
Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, flies over a Washington, D.C. neighborhood, as seen from a NASA T-38 aircraft, in this April 17, 2012 photo. (Reuters/Robert Markowitz/NASA)
People gather to watch the arrival of the space shuttle Discovery at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, on April 17, 2012 in Chantilly, Virginia. Hundreds of people arrived early in the morning to watch the arrival of the shuttle from the parking lot of the center. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Space shuttle Discovery flies over NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on April 17, 2012. The flight path included Goddard as a nod to the many support and communications specialists working with the Shuttle program at Goddard during Discovery's 39 missions. (NASA/GSFC/James Cusick)
A young boy wears an astronaut costume in the parking lot of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, on April 17, 2012 in Chantilly, Virginia. Hundreds of people gathered at the museum early in the morning to watch the arrival of the space shuttle Discovery. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Its final flight complete, the space shuttle Discovery, sits on the Dulles International Airport tarmac under blue skies, on April 17, 2012. Discovery will be lifted from the carrier aircraft shortly, and will towed to the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center for display. (Reuters/Gary Cameron)
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