Hank Hartsfield, former NASA astronaut pilot of space shuttle Discovery, Dies at 80


NASA astronaut Henry "Hank" Hartsfield died Thursday, July 17. The 80-year-old man commanded the maiden voyage of NASA's space shuttle Discovery after waiting 13 years to pilot a space mission....

Space Shuttle Discovery to make final in-air appearance in 1,500-foot DC flyover

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Folks lucky enough to be in the nation's capital next week will have one final opportunity to gawk at Space Shuttle Discovery as the decommissioned spacecraft makes its way to its final resting place in Washington D.C. The shuttle is scheduled for a 1,500-foot flyover between 10 and 11 next Tuesday morning, passing over the National Mall and Reagan National Airport atop NASA's modified 747-100. The craft will then land at Dulles Airport before making a land-based journey to the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Center, where it will replace the Enterprise shuttle, which is destined for the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan. That prototype shuttle is scheduled to land in New York City a few days later on April 23rd, where it will touch down at JFK mounted to what's likely to be the same Shuttle Carrier Aircraft scheduled to make the Discover delivery in D.C., though there's sadly no word of a similar photo op in NYC.

Space Shuttle Discovery to make final in-air appearance in 1,500-foot DC flyover originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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