Space shuttle Discovery salutes nation's capital

Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer, Superior Telegram
Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) flies near the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in Washington. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers. (NASA/Rebecca Roth)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The space shuttle Discovery soared around the Washington Monument, the White House and the Capitol in a high-flying salute to the nation's capital.

The world's most traveled spaceship was hitching a ride Tuesday on top a Boeing 747 jet. The pair took a leisurely spin at an easy-to-spot 1,500 feet around Washington after a flight from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The shuttle-jet combo was set to land at Dulles International Airport. On Thursday, it will be towed to its permanent installation at the Smithsonian's annex in northern Virginia.

Discovery flew nearly 149 million miles before it was retired last year. Discovery will replace the shuttle Enterprise at the museum. The Enterprise was a shuttle prototype that never flew in orbit. It will move to a New York museum.

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