Article Posted on : - Apr 18, 2012

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, is seen as it flies near Washington on Tuesday. A NASA photo

CHANTILLY, USA (AP): Space shuttle Discovery has landed at Washington Dulles International Airport, where its wheels will stop for the last time at the Smithsonian.

The world's most traveled spaceship landed Tuesday after taking off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and soaring around the Washington Monument and White House in a salute to the nation's capital.

Discovery rode on the back of a 747 jet and took a spin around Washington at an easy-to-spot 450 meters before it was grounded for good.

Discovery will be towed to its installation at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum annex near Dulles in northern Virginia.

The Space Shuttle flew nearly 240 million kilometers before retiring last year.