Sunday, September 20, 2009

Discovery arrives for overnight stay in Louisiana

Discovery arrives in Shreveport tonight (Val Horvath/Times)

The space shuttle Discovery riding a top a Boeing 747-200 jet arrived at Barksdale, AFB near Shreveport, Louisiana, following it's sunrise departure from the southern California desert today.

The Aeronautical Duo arrived at Barksdale at 6:39 pm EDT, this evening following refueling stops in Amarillo and Ft. Worth Naval Air Station, Texas.

Early tomorrow morning, the modified 747 jet will depart Shreveport and steer southeast as it carries a beautiful white dove bound for Discovery's home, the Kennedy Space Center. The 747 is due to land at Cape Canaveral on the shuttle landing facility at about 10:30 am.

NASA pilot Charles Justiz, flying aboard the NASA 747 told this reporter via text message tonight, "Weather looks good to finish Orbiter Discovery move tomorrow, but morning fog at Barksdale may delay getting started. Fingers crossed."

The last space shuttle orbiter to visit the northern Louisiana air base was Endeavour last December during her ferry flight back to Kennedy, too.

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