Space Shuttle Discovery Is On Its Way Home

1, 2, 3. Photos Courtesy Bill Hartenstein

Discovery, mounted securely atop NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, lifted off the runway at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California on its ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at 8:31 a.m. Pacific time today.

The 747 - Discovery combination touched down at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma after a flight of about 3 hours and 10 minutes. After refueling the 747, the flight crew and ferry flight managers were planning to continue the cross-country journey to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where the piggyback pair were to stay overnight. The craft are then scheduled to continue their journey across the south to the Kennedy Space Center near Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, with arrival tentatively set for mid-day.