Final flight: Space shuttle Discovery flies to new home at Smithsonian
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Space shuttle Discovery, prior to its final flight to the Smithsonian museum. (Fox News)
Space shuttle Discovery soars through the air over Washington, D.C., on its final flight, on the back of a modified 747. (Fox News)
Space shuttle Discovery, prior to its final flight to the Smithsonian museum. (Fox News)
Space shuttle Discovery soars through the air on its final flight, on the back of a modified 747. (Fox News)
Shuttle Discovery flies over Washington D.C. on its final flight. (Fox News)
Space shuttle Discovery buzzed metropolitan Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning, soaring over the Washington Monument, the White House and the Capitol before landing to begin its new life as a museum relic -- following three decades of space service for NASA's oldest and most traveled space taxi. (Fox News)
Discovery will be towed Thursday to its installation at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum annex near Dulles in northern Virginia. (Fox News)
Thousands had packed the National Mall in front of the Capitol to watch the pair swoop by, as Discovery took a leisurely spin at an easy-to-spot 1,500 feet (450 meters) overhead prior to coming to a final rest. (Fox News)
(Fox News)
Apr. 17, 2012: The space shuttle Discovery, atop a 747 carrier aircraft, makes a flyover at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. Discovery, the longest-serving orbiter will be placed to its new home, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Apr. 17, 2012: Space shuttle Discovery atop a 747 carrier jet departs the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Discovery is being transported to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Apr. 14, 2012: Space shuttle Discovery is rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center for its final time Saturday morning in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The orbiter will be mated to a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft for its final flight-to the Smithsonian Institution. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Craig Bailey)
Apr. 17, 2012: Space shuttle Discovery atop a 747 carrier jet departs the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Discovery is being transported to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Apr. 17, 2012: Space shuttle Discovery atop a 747 carrier jet taxis down the runway before leaving the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Discovery is being transported to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Apr. 14, 2012: Space shuttle Discovery waits at the Mate-Demate structure to be to be mounted atop a 747 carrier jet, back left. Discovery will be transported to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington on Tuesday, April 17. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Apr. 14, 2012: Media from around the world photograph crews at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Saturday morning, as they work on preparations to attach the space shuttle Discovery to a modified Boeing 747. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Craig Rubadoux)
Apr. 15, 2012: Workers attach space shuttle Discovery to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in the mate-demate device at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Kim Shiflett, NASA)
Apr. 15, 2012: Crews at the Kennedy Space Center work on attaching the space shuttle Discovery to a modified 747 using the Shuttle Mate Demate device early Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Craig Rubadoux)
Apr. 6, 2012: A view from the pilot's seat in the cockpit of of space shuttle Endeavour is seen during a media tour at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Apr. 15, 2012: Crews at the Kennedy Space Center work on attaching the space shuttle Discovery to a modified 747 using the Shuttle Mate Demate device in Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Craig Rubadoux)
Apr. 15, 2012: Crews at the Kennedy Space Center work on attaching the space shuttle Discovery to a modified 747. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Craig Rubadoux)