The space shuttle Discovery started a cross-country ferry flight back to its home port in Florida on September 20, after more than a week after returning to Earth from its latest mission to orbit. NASA typically spends approximately 1.8 million U.S. dollars and a week of time hauling shuttles home to Florida from California.
According to media reports, it has stopped for the night at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The shuttle is being ferried atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, which is a modified 747 jumbo jet.
The US space shuttle Discovery touches down in the Mojave Desert on September 11, at Edwards Air Force Base near Rosamond, California, ending a 13 day-mission to the ISS. The successful landing came after the Discovery was twice on September 11 and twice on September 10 unable to land at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida because of poor weather conditions. A refueling stop was made earlier Sunday at the international airport in Amarillo, Texas, and dozens of well-wishers and space enthusiasts gathered at airport to greet shuttle discovery.
The shuttle should reach Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday.
Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 11 in California to end a two-week, 5.7-million mile (9.1 million km)mission to the international space station.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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