Space shuttle Discovery was lifted and placed atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility mate/demate device in the early morning hours of April 15 in preparation for its ride to Washington Dulles International Airport on April 17.
Discovery is set to depart just after sunrise and arrive in the Washington, D.C. area around 10 a.m. After arriving at Dulles, Discovery will be moved on April 19 to the nearby Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center for permanent public display.