The retired U.S. space shuttle Discovery is on its final voyage to a Washington-area aviation museum. The 28-year-old orbiter departed the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday, hitching a ride on the back of one of the U.S. space agency NASA's specially outfitted Boeing 747 jumbo jets. The shuttle is being flown over a variety of landmarks in the Washington area to give people the chance to see it. Discovery will land at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia and be taken to the Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
美国退役航天飞机“发现号”正在进行最后一次旅程，前往首都华盛顿地区的航天博物馆。这架服役28年的飞行器星期二离开佛罗里达州的肯尼迪航天中心，骑在一架美国航空航天署专门配备的波音747大型喷气式飞机背上启程。这架航天飞机将飞过华盛顿地区的多个地标建筑，让民众有机会看到它。“发现号”将在维吉尼亚州北部的杜勒斯国际机场着陆，并前往史密森国家航空航天博物馆分部的优达沃-哈兹中心。
It was a little more than a year ago that Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on its final mission. NASA retired the shuttle fleet last year to focus on developing the next generation of spacecraft that will travel beyond low earth orbit. On April 19, Discovery will be unveiled as part of the collection at the Udvar-Hazy Center, just outside Washington. Some of Discovery's famous former passengers will be in attendance, including astronaut John Glenn -- who in 1962 was the first American to orbit the Earth. He returned to space on Discovery in 1998.
一年多前，“发现号”从肯尼迪航天中心出发，完成了最后一次太空使命。去年，美国航空航天局让所有航天飞机退役，集中发展下一代能绕地球低轨道飞行的太空船。4月19日，“发现号”将作为华盛顿郊外的优达沃-哈兹中心的收藏品亮相。届时，“发现号”一些著名的过去的乘客将到场，其中包括1962年首位绕地球飞行的美国人约翰.格伦。他1998年搭乘“发现号”返回太空。
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