Spectators filled the streets of Washington, DC, office workers peered out windows and motorists pulled to the side of roads. Some cheered; others watched in prideful silence.
It’s rare to see people smiling proudly in a town where the only shared value seems to be raging narcissism. What brought people to their feet and out of their offices was the sight of the space shuttle Discovery sitting atop NASA’s shuttle carrier aircraft. The same Discovery spacecraft that flew 39 missions, launched the Hubble Telescope and carried John Glenn, 36 years after his pioneering Mercury flight is being retired to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Virginia.
The photo you see was taken as the shuttle flew over the CRD Associates offices. It was an extraordinary sight, even for Washington.