Space Shuttle Discovery Final Flight over Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, I had a unique opportunity to climb up to the Lincoln Memorial's roof to catch some photos of Space Shuttle Discovery being delivered to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport.  After ascending the secret stairs to access the roof, I set out across the slate shingles to stake out a spot to set up.  Of course, all this was last minute, and I didn't know which way the plane would be coming from.  I though south, but it turned out to be north.

First, the shuttle came down the Potomac River from the north, stopping some of the traffic on the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

"Honk, hooonnnnnnkk!"  Discovery passes over Arlington Cemetery.  According to news sources, bystanders booed the double-decker bus right on the centerline, and they eventually moved.  Photo from the Lincoln Memorial roof.  NPS Photo by Nathan King

The aircraft buzzed Reagan National - where the normally constant commercial traffic was put on hold for half an hour for this stunt -  and circled over Alexandria before a pass over the National Mall from west to east at 1500 feet. I got it over the Jefferson Memorial, which wasn't the best pic ever, but it's a view most people will never get.

NPS Photo by Nathan King

After circling the city to the north, they came back for a third pass, which was when I finally got the idea to put the Lincoln Memorial in the foreground.  For the thousands of photos of this air show, no one else could have gotten this shot.

Discovery passes over the Lincoln Memorial.  NPS Photo by Nathan King.

My photos are OK - I did the best I could with the equipment I had - but there is a treasure trove of Discovery pics on Flickr.  Oh, and there are plenty of videos, too.