Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. – Space shuttle Discovery took off today atop a jumbo jet for a cross-country trip to Florida, more than a week after it landed in the Mojave Desert.
The modified Boeing 747 carrying the shuttle piggyback took off just after 8:30 a.m. to return to Cape Canaveral. It will make several stops to refuel during the 2,232-mile trip, which was expected to cost NASA at least $1 million.
Discovery and its seven-member crew touched down Aug. 9 at the Edwards backup landing site after a 14-day mission to service the international space station. The landing was diverted to California after low clouds and lightning prevented the shuttle from returning to Florida.
The shuttle flight was the first since the Columbia tragedy 2 1/2 years ago.
