Shuttle's final salute caps off 30 years of Discovery (51 images)

The Space Shuttle Discovery, atop a Boeing 747, and trailed by a USAF warplane, makes a pass over the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and US Capitol along The Mall, Washington, DC, as it makes its way to Dulles International Airport, where it will be taken for retirement to the Smithsonian Museum's Udar-Hazy Center, April 17, 2012. UPI/Mike Theiler

NASA's space shuttle "Discovery" and its Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft fly toward sunrise after departing the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on April 17, 2012. The orbiter and the aircraft departed at 7:00 AM and will fly northward to Washington DC. After flying past the monuments at the US Capital, Discovery will be flown to Dulles Airport where it will be placed on permanent display at the Smithsonian Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. .UPI/Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell

The Space Shuttle Discovery atop the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Bowing 747, flies past the Washington Monument on its way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Virginia annex for its permanent display on April 17, 2012 in Washington, DC. The shuttle flew over the Nation's Capital at 1500 feet offering a great view for residents and tourists before landing at Dulles International Airport. UPI/Pat Benic

The Space Shuttle Discovery atop the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Bowing 747, flies past the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol on its way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Virginia annex for its permanent display on April 17, 2012 in Washington, DC. The shuttle flew over the Nation's Capital at 1500 feet offering a great view for residents and tourists before landing at Dulles International Airport. UPI/Pat Benic

The Space Shuttle Discovery atop the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Bowing 747, flies past the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol on its way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Virginia annex for its permanent display on April 17, 2012 in Washington, DC. The shuttle flew over the Nation's Capital at 1500 feet offering a great view for residents and tourists before landing at Dulles International Airport. UPI/Pat Benic

The Space Shuttle Discovery atop the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Bowing 747, flies past the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol on its way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Virginia annex for its permanent display on April 17, 2012 in Washington, DC. The shuttle flew over the Nation's Capital at 1500 feet offering a great view for residents and tourists before landing at Dulles International Airport. UPI/Pat Benic