Shuttle Discovery’s ferry flight now is at Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas for refueling. The modified 747, known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, carrying Discovery arrived at 12:08 p.m. EDT. This is the first stop on the cross-country trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California at 9:20 a.m. Discovery’s “pathfinder” support aircraft, a NASA C-9 plane, departed about 9:10 a.m.
Teams will evaluate the weather again while the aircraft are refueling to determine the next stop in the 2,500 mile trek. Their objective is to get to Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana this afternoon where they will stay overnight.
Managers plan to have Discovery back at Kennedy on Monday.