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Space shuttle Discovery brings Congress outside
A rare sight over the Capitol on Tuesday morning brought Congress together in a bipartisan desire to run outside or open a window.
NASA sent the retired Space Shuttle Discovery on a scenic flight low in the sky over Washington, strapped atop the space agency's custom Boeing 747.
NASA promoted the use of the Twitter hashtag #spottheshuttle for second-by-second updates on the fly-by, and several legislators made use of it Tuesday morning as the shuttle flew over the Capitol, the White House, and many of the monuments on the National Mall in Washington.
#Discovery as seen from my office window en route to new home at Virginia's @airandspace. Awesome. #spottheshuttle twitter.com/MarkWarner/sta…
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) April 17, 2012
Our view from the Capitol this morning: Good morning, DC...good night, Space Shuttle #spottheshuttletwitpic.com/9awuqz
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) April 17, 2012
Stepped outside the Capital to watch Space Shuttle Discovery fly by. Great 30 years of space exploration. Farewell! twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley…
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) April 17, 2012
Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) called it an "amazing sight." Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) called it "amazing" that the Discovery traveled 149 million miles in space to make it to Washington.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his wife Cindy made it a family affair, camping out on the steps of the Capitol along with McCain's 100-year-old mother Roberta McCain, waiting for a sighting.
"I am so excited!" Cindy McCain tweeted.
@SenJohnMcCainwith me and Roberta McCain waiting for #spottheshuttle. twitter.com/CindyhM1/statu…
— Cindy McCain (@CindyhM1) April 17, 2012
And Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) took the opportunity to tweet a eulogy to Discovery and to America's ongoing "mission in space."
Space Shuttle Discovery flying over DC on way 2 @Smithsonian testament 2 pride in America’s research & innovation economy. #SpottheShuttle
— Barbara Mikulski (@SenatorBarb) April 17, 2012
The retired space shuttle will ultimately be housed at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia.
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