• Joe Skipper / Reuters

    Space center workers watch as the space shuttle Discovery (above) is approached by a NASA 747 aircraft, which was towed into the Mate Demate facility at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 15.

    NASA preps Discovery for last ride

    NASA mounted the space shuttle Discovery on a jumbo jet on Sunday in preparation for the retired orbiter's delivery to the Smithsonian. The paired air- and spacecraft are expected to fly out of Florida for Virginia on Tuesday morning, weather permitting.

    Discovery's mating to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, NASA's modified Boeing 747 jetliner, came a day later than the space agency had planned. On Saturday, wind gusts at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility set the 167,000-pound (75,300-kilogram) Discovery swaying under its lift sling, posing a risk that it could impact the Mate-Demate Device, the gantrylike steel structure used to hoist the shuttle onto the jetliner.

    -- Reported by Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com

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  • NASA provides detailed pictures of Discovery's survey maneuver

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    I remember being in middle school and our teachers wheeling a TV into our classroom so we could watch the beautiful shuttle launches that always sent a little twinge of national pride through me. I remember that cold day in January when I was home on a snow day and saw the Challenger fall out of the sky. I remember being called into work the day before my birthday when the Columbia met the same fate. I can't imagine not having this part of the space program in the background of my life. What are your thoughts on shuttle flights drawing to a close? Do you have any specific memories of the shuttle program? You can read more on Discovery's mission here.

    NASA TV via EPA

    This view of the aft portion of the space shuttle Discovery was provided by an Expedition 26 crew member during a survey of the approaching STS-133 vehicle prior to docking with the International Space Station. As part of the survey and part of every mission's activities, Discovery performed a back-flip for the rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM) The 'Discovery' with its crew of six veteran astronauts blasted off on Feb. 24 from the Kennedy Space Center on its final mission - an 11-day mission that includes docking with the International Space Station - bringing the celebrated space shuttle fleet closer to its end.

    NASA TV via EPA

    This close-up view of the nose of space shuttle Discovery was provided by an Expedition 26 crew member during a survey of the approaching STS-133 vehicle prior to docking with the International Space Station.

    NASA TV via EPA

    This view of the nose, the forward underside and crew cabin of the space shuttle Discovery was provided by an Expedition 26 crew member during a survey of the approaching STS-133 vehicle prior to docking with the International Space Station.

    NASA TV / EPA

    A partial view of the port wing of the space shuttle Discovery was provided by an Expedition 26 crew member during a survey of the approaching STS-133 vehicle prior to docking with the International Space Station.

     

  • Craig Rubadoux / AP

    Photographers take photos of the Rotating Service Structure as it rolled back from the space shuttle Discovery, Wednesday night, Feb. 23, 2011 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. After 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) and nearly a year all told in orbit, space shuttle Discovery is poised to blast off Thursday one last time.

    Space shuttle Discovery cleared for Thursday launch

    By James Cheng

    Read the latest about the Discovery's launch from here.