USA: The space shuttle Discovery swoops over the U.S. capital on the back of a modified Boeing 747

Record ID: 572982

  • Title: USA: The space shuttle Discovery swoops over the U.S. capital on the back of a modified Boeing 747
  • Date: 18th April 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIENNE CLARENPELTIER, SPECTATOR SAYING: "I was like... thats humingus. Its really cool. I can't believe that they would actually launch that through space."
  • Embargoed: 3rd May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVAEY09GUW6UZ4CIRLBB6Y5ALR1I
  • Story Text: The space shuttle Discovery made its final voyage on Tuesday (April 17): a piggyback jet ride to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Virginia.
    For its last ride, Discovery took off not from its seaside launch pad but atop a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet that taxied down the Kennedy Space Center's runway at dawn. The shuttle's tail was capped with an aerodynamically shaped cone and its windows were covered.
    Crowds of spectators gathered near the White House and on the National Mall in Washington cheered and applauded as the shuttle took a final spin, above the U.S. capital.
    "Well the shuttle's been with us for 30 years and it's been a remarkable achievement of technology and shows America's leadership and technology in airspace, so it was really kind of a farewell, to say goodbye, but you know pleasant at the same time to see it, so it was really neat to see," spectator Eric Plumer said.
    "I was like, that's humungous, really cool. I can't believe that they would actually launch that through space," spectator Vienne Clarenpeltier said.
    Discovery, the fleet leader of NASA's three surviving shuttles, completed its last spaceflight in March 2011. It was promised to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, the nation's official repository for space artifacts.
    "It was beautiful, and really neat. For me it was exciting to watch all the kids that are around here that are just little kids and they are just so excited to see it. I guess the program's ending, but the shuttle is going to be in the museum and I hope that inspires some of these kids and so many people around here to continue with the space program in different ways, but it's just beautiful seeing it," spectator Erin Oberstee said.
    "I retired from the space shuttle program in 2010 and to see this fly over is a punctuation to the good work we did during the space shuttle era," spectator Richard Walker said.
    After looping around the U.S. capital, the shuttle carrier plane touched down at Washington Dulles International Airport shortly after 11 a.m. ED (1500GMT).
    Discovery, which first flew in August 1984, was to be transferred to the Smithsonian's nearby Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
    The United States retired its space shuttles last year after finishing construction of the $100 billion International Space Station, a project of 15 countries, to begin work on a new generation of spaceships that can carry astronauts to destinations beyond the station's 240-mile-high (384-km-high) orbit.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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