Space Shuttle Discovery Zooms Right Over My Head

It was quite a treat to see the Space Shuttle Discovery riding horseback on a massive NASA jet over my condo this morning.

(The photo to the right is taken with my little iPhone camera and is the shuttle's third and final pass over Silver Spring, where I live.)

Despite knowing the shuttle was scheduled to pass through DC air space between 10 and 11, I was still diddling around when I heard my neighbors start to yell in excitement from our green roof. I stepped out on my balcony and heard a sonic, unusual boom headed our way.

And then ... I was standing directly under the jet and shuttle. It was literally right above me and very close to the ground. I ran to the roof and called Rachel to tell her it was headed to Ballston, where she works in Virginia. She excitedly said it was right out their 8th-floor window.

What a nice treat from NASA to allow all of the DC metro region to get a look at the shuttle before it rests west of the city at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum by Dulles Airport.