Discovery Ready to Fly Out of Florida One Last Time
Monday, April 16, 2012
By: Matthew Peddie

The space shuttle is scheduled to fly over Kennedy Space Center and the National Mall en route to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Astronauts from Discovery’s final mission say they feel a mixture of pride and sadness to see it leave Kennedy Space Center.

The oldest of the three remaining NASA orbiters is parked on top of a 747 transport aircraft at the space center ready for take off at dawn tuesday.

Astronaut Nicole Stott paid tribute to Discovery and the people who worked and flew on it.

“There’s definitely a feeling of excitement, for sure, pride for what the vehicle has done and the people involved with the program have done in general for our sense of exploration and all of that as well," she said.

"But yeah, it's definitely sad to watch it leave for the last time.”

If the weather’s good the shuttle should make a pass over the space coast for spectators, and it will also circle the National Mall in Washington DC before touching down at Dulles International Airport.

Discovery will be displayed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum near Dulles.