Shuttle Discovery Heads Home on Boeing 747

NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the Space Shuttle Discovery on top lifts off from Edwards Air Force Base to begin its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA photo by Carla Thomas. View high-res version

Space Shuttle Discovery and the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft landed safely at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma at 2:35 p.m. EDT for a 2-hour refueling stop. Weather permitting, they will then continue the cross-country ferry flight to an overnight stop at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Plans call for Discovery to arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida late Saturday morning.

Flying ahead of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft by about 100 miles is a "pathfinder" KC-135 aircraft, which monitors the weather in the flight path for the 747's crew.

Source: NASA more at Space Shuttle Discovery or Space Shuttle and STS-114 or Discovery