The space shuttle Discovery's bittersweet final flight over D.C.

NASA's oldest surviving shuttle, mounted on top of a Boeing 747, cruises at low altitude over cheering onlookers in the capital as it makes its last journey

The Discovery space shuttle hitches a ride aboard a 747 airplane to its final home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
(Image credit: Jeff Malet, maletphoto.com)

Applause erupted on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning as a space shuttle mounted on the back of a modified 747 airplane flew over the nation's capital. The space shuttle Discovery was en route to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex near Dulles Airport, its new permanent home. (Watch the video below.) It marked the final flight for the shuttle, which NASA retired in March 2011. Here, a guide to the "extraordinary sight" and the Discovery's legacy:

Why is Discovery important?

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