By Scott Shephard

What does it say about me that when I got my first glimpse of the space shuttle Discovery in the National Air and Space Museum near Dulles International Airport I got goose bumps? Or when I walked in awe into the immense hanger that housed her, I got just a little teary eyed? I won’t try to answer those questions other than to say that ever since Alan Shepard went into space in a Mercury capsule in 1961, I, like millions of others of my generation, have been a huge space fan.

And I will also say that Discovery is just plain awesome. Perhaps you can see that she is a little worse for wear but consider this: Discovery was in service for 27 years and flew 39 missions, which is more than any other space craft. Today she sits quietly and proudly in her own room at the Udvar-Hazy Center about 25 miles west of Washington, DC. If you are lucky, as I was yesterday, you will get there early enough to stand alone in the room with this amazing flying machine.

Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/3.5 ISO800 16mm