Community Corner

Discovery Bids Special Farewell to Manassas

NASA's Discovery Space Shuttle circles Manassas not once, not twice, but three separate times.

Yesterday's Manassas Airport Regional Business Alliance (MARBA) meeting proved to be a tad more eventful than originally thought.

Those in attendance had no clue they were about to witness NASA's Discovery Space Shuttle fly directly over the not once, not twice, but three separate times.

I was there to interview some of the members regarding this year's Wings, Wheels & Warriors Airshow when we all received a personal airshow of our own.

Find out what's happening in Manassaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The MARBA members had wrapped up their weekly planning meeting for the airshow and I was three minutes into my questions when someone shouted, "Look! Look! There it is!"

Everyone rushed out to the tarmac only to catch a brief glimpse of Discovery nestled on top of NASA's 747 modified shuttle carrier and a fighter jet escort as they traveled north.

Find out what's happening in Manassaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cell phones were drawn to capture video and pictures, but before you knew it   Discovery had  disappeared as a mere dot into the distance and everyone filed back into the board room. Moments later we heard a loud roar.

The rush to the tarmac was delayed a few seconds not thinking it could be the shuttle again, but it was. This time it was traveling east, directly over the terminal before banking a hard left turn and quickly vanishing out of sight once again.

It was back to the board room, but not for long.

Whether it was a special phone call that was made, or just pure coincidence, those on the ground at received a tip that Discovery wanted to say bye one last time.

Elated, everyone rushed back out, cameras ready.  Then there it was, inbound from the northwest getting closer and closer. Members of the group that own airplanes, helicopters and even a jet were on the tarmac expressing their emotions as the most ultimate of all aircraft flew by.

Cheers, applause and a little dancing ensued, as if we were all children witnessing Santa and his sleigh head back to the North Pole.

The three aircraft flew by in what seemed like slow motion as it dropped its landing gear and vanished out of sight. 

Having traveled nearly 150 million miles during its missions, we were all speechless after viewing it's final moments in the air.

One prepared person deserves a ton of credit for some amazing photos taken of Discovery: MARBA member, Kent Larson of Aerial Photographers, LLC,  and his newly purchased 37 Mega-Pixel Nikon D-800 camera snapped shots that are simply breathtaking. See attached photos.

Special Note: Make sure to check out my preview piece on the Second Annual Wings, Wheels & Warriors Airshow & 10K-5K Run later this week. Special thanks to the entire MARBA committee for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here