Look toward the skies this morning! The Discovery Space Shuttle will soon be on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Northern Virginia. The shuttle will depart Kennedy Space Center in Florida around dawn on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, atop a Boeing 747 modified as a Shuttle Carrier, and will likely arrive in the Washington DC area between 10 and 11 a.m. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, will receive the historic orbiter from NASA in a ceremony April 19. The aircraft is expected to fly near several landmarks in the metropolitan area. The exact route and timing of the flight, which is being coordinated in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, will depend on weather and operational constraints.
This will be an unusual sight to see. You may be able to spot the shuttle from the following locations:
- The National Mall, including Memorial Bridge, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the east end
- Hains Point at East Potomac Park, south of the Jefferson Memorial and the 14th Street Bridge
- Southwest Waterfront Park
- Long Bridge Park, located at 475 Long Bridge Dr. in Arlington
- Old Town Alexandria waterfront
- Gravelly Point, just off the George Washington Parkway, near National Airport
- National Harbor, just off the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Prince George's County, MD
Photo © NASM
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