i hope -- you know, if there's any message i like to share with people, we all will be challenged. we know that. challenge comes in a lot of different forms. the question is what are you going to do about it? what are you going to do about it? i believe we're not bound by circumstances we're born into and what's happening today isn't what's going to happen tomorrow and that amazing things can happen. >> the book is amazing. "imperfect and improbable life" by jim abbott. thank you for being with us. good morning to all of you. i'm carol costello. happening now, hawaii, ipods, gift cards, new questions flying this morning about spending at the gsa. will jeff neely, the man behind the vegas trip you paid for get up and walk out again today? clearances yanked. secret service hooker scandal widens this morning. new information from the white house. your money, your taxes. the buffett rule blasted. republicans rallying this

morning calling it trickle down taxation. pricey light. the new light bulb to replace regular hits stores this sunday, earth day. this thing lasts for 20 years. it costs as much as 60 bucks. new home. shuttle "discovery" hitching a ride heading up the east coast from florida to virginia. amazing new pictures this hour. an eye popping eruption you have got to see. "newsroom" begins right now. taxpayer outrage this morning is growing over the millions of dollars seemingly squandered by unanimous bureaucrats. right now the second hearing in two days. they are facing questions about their lavish convention in las vegas. a rewards program that gave employees ipods and gift cards worth hundreds of thousands of

dollars. and a hawaii trip for some spending up to a week there for a ribbon cutting that lasted a mere hour. senior congressional correspondent dana bash is on capitol hill. yesterday we saw some pretty outraged lawmakers and apologetic witnesses. anything new coming out today? >> reporter: we are already seeing some fire big-time in the hearing. it started already about a half hour ago. i want you to listen to a very upset republican chair of the house transportation subcommittee. >> i'm here to tell you the buck stops here. we're not going to hold up any longer. the american public demands to see the budget on the public federal buildings fund and how that money has been spent. this slush fund is no longer going to be used for personal uses. >> reporter: now, they are making clear already in this hearing this morning, carol, that they are going to talk

beyond that 2010 now infamous conference in las vegas and talk about what they say is excessive spending across the board. i do want to focus on some of what we have been talking about because again this conference was pretty amazing. take a look at this. $59,000 for an audio visual firm to be hired for the conference. $75,000 for a bike building exercise and $9,000 for colored theme tags. a big part of the discussion was why the person responsible for spending all this still got a $9,000 bonus of taxpayer money. >> that would be mr. neely. also for the first time lawmakers will hear from a so-called whistle-blower. tell us about her. >> her name is susan. she was the deputy commissioner at the gsa. in fact, they were just talking about her before you and i came on. she turns out used to work for the committee that she's going to appear before. she apparently was the first

person to say, wait a minute, this is way too much spending on things that we shouldn't be spending on like a mind reader a clown outfit, things that really this is how the government is spending the money at this conference. she wrote a memo saying that this should be investigated. apparently started the ball rolling on the inspector general investigation into all of this. it will be very interesting to hear what she has to say later. >> dana bash, you are covering it for us and we appreciate it. another scandal rocking washington and widening this morning. we're learning that a colombian brothel is the primary focus of the secret service prostitution investigation. also new this morning, the secret service has stripped the security clearance of the 11 staffers accused of bringing prostitutes back to their hotel from the brothel. that was just a couple days before the president arrived in colombia for a summit. a former cia operative says why this alleged breach could have endangered the president's life. >> the secret service stays in a

hotel. they keep the call signs. they keep incrypted radios. they keep their routes that president will travel. if i'm an assassin, that's precisely where i would want to be. assassination these days depends on intelligence. you got to predict movements and these guys would have it there. >> brianna keilar is at the white house for us. tell us more about this brothel. >> reporter: this according to a source who has told cnn, carol, is one of the primary focuses in terms of the locations that these secret service agents may have visited. while it's a primary focus in the investigation, there were several groups and stops at several venues according to this source. let's catch you up on the latest today and what has changed overnight. these 11 secret service agents have been stripped of their

security clearance. personnel action has been taken at least preliminarily. and then we learned from chairman of the house homeland security committee peter king there were 11 prostitutes that these 11 agents allegedly brought 11 prostitutes back to the hotel and also we should mention that the numbers in terms of how many military personnel may have solicited prostitutes appears to be on the rise according to a spokesman indicating there may be more than five. we're looking perhaps between five and ten according to sources. the location, the brothel is really the headline today in terms of new details about piecing together perhaps how the evening went into these secret service agents. it was wednesday night into thursday morning that this happened. >> brianna keilar reporting live for us from the white house. coming up at 10:00 a.m. eastern, inside colombia with colombian reporter who says colombia is known for sex tourism and she

puts a very -- this whole scandal puts a public eye on prostitution there. we'll talk to her live to see what she knows about this brothel in the 10:00 a.m. eastern hour of "newsroom." crews in chile this morning are assessing the aftermath of a strong earthquake that caused mud slides and damage. it rattled a newscast on our sister network cnn chile. the quake was felt in the capital less than 70 miles from the epicenter. it knocked out power and phone lines in the region. a key u.s. ally is making plans to pull out of afghanistan sooner than expected. australia's prime minister meeting with troops here in 2010 in afghanistan, says the withdrawal could begin in months. nearly all 1,500 australian troops could be be out by the end of 2013, nearly a year ahead of schedule. if you haven't filed your

taxes, the clock is ticking. americans have until midnight tonight to file their federal returns and a new cnn poll takes the pulse of the american taxpayer. 45% say the amount they pay uncle sam is too high. you might be surprised that slightly more, 50% say the amount they pay is just right. 3% say they actually should be paying more in taxes. go figure. this afternoon nascar champ tony stewart makes a pit stop at the white house. president obama will welcome stewart and other drivers and recognize their efforts to give back to the community. the university of alabama's football championship trophy has been shattered into tiny pieces. it happened at a university event on saturday. a player's father got his foot caught on a rug under the trophy display. the bcs title trophy is valued at $30,000. university official says they will replace it. the father is off the hook for that one. retired space shuttle "discovery" arrives in the nation's capital in the next

hour. it left florida two hours ago attached to this boeing 747. it will replace the test shuttle enterprise at the smithsonian. john zarrella is at the kennedy space center. there was pomp and circumstance. a lot of people waving farewell? >> reporter: absolutely. they had bus loads of nasa employees, many who had worked for years in the space shuttle program who were here to watch "discovery" head off to dulles. the final crew that flew "discovery" back in february, 14 months ago, they as well were on hand to say good-bye. it was a spectacular moment. "discovery" lifting off here. it flew down the coast along the beach and then circled back up and flew over launch pad 39-a where it lifted off so many times in the past and then made one last flyover right behind

us. just a couple hundred feet off the deck on the back of that 747 and headed due north into just clear, blue skies. it's interesting, carol. as "discovery"y is exiting and other two shuttles not far behind it, in a couple weeks to our south, a commercial company is going to try to take that next step into space. they're going to launch their dragon rocket in an attempt to rendezvous and birth with the international space station. it would be the first time in history that any commercial company has been able to accomplish such a feat. shortly after that they hope to take cargo to the space station and within two or three years other commercial companies believe by 2016 they will be taking astronauts filling the void left behind as "discovery" and the other vehicles retire to their new homes in various parts of the country. the end of one era and perhaps

the early stages of the beginnings of another era of commercial space travel. >> it's a spectacular sight to see the space shuttle on top of that boeing 747. it's sad too. we won't see it again. final destination is chantilly, virginia. that plane is supposed to land at 10:00 eastern, and then what happens? >> reporter: a little bit after 10:00. they left here earlier than we thought about ten minutes earlier. sometime between 10:00 and 10:30. there will be a ceremony there as well. very quickly they are going to get it inside the building there at the smithsonian, air and space museum, and they have to move enterprise out. they never flew into space. they dropped it from a 747 back in the days before the very first shuttle flew into space. they have to move it out.

put it on top of the 747 and ferry it up to new york because it will eventually when their museum housing is ready, it will end up in the museum up there. a lot of work to be done in the next few days. >> john zarrella reporting live for us. when that thing lands, we'll take threw live in the 10:00 a.m. hour of "newsroom." the new light bulb last for 20 years. it uses a fraction of the energy. boy, it will cost you a lot. 60 bucks. will you buy it? plus, buffett world battle plan. a new fight to fairness. we're talking money and taxes and why tax reform talk is dead. and the voice and the holy book of the bible. in a new translation. here's the hook. you won't find the words christ, angel or apostle in the book. we'll talk to the man behind it. you're watching "newsroom." we're back in two.

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it is 9:15 eastern time checking this morning's top stories happening right now on capitol hill. the gsa getting grilled again. this time there are new witnesses and new questions. this morning they are asking why gsa employees got trips to hawaii, gift cards, and ipods. the attorney for george zimmerman asking for a new trial judge in the trayvon martin case. mark o'mara filed the question.

zimmerman is asking being held on second-degree murder charges in the teenager's death. two bodies were pulled from the "costa concordia" wreckage today. are you cell phone only or do you have land line? more states are ending a requirement that phone companies provide everyone land line service. about 30% of american households were wireless only. google needs a doodler. the animations it he top of the search engine page, google says the job requires a sense of humor, love of all things historical and an imaginative artistry. no salary has been revealed. a spectacular view of the sun and exploding flare. the eye popping video caught by a nasa spacecraft. jacqui jeras joins us now. we just want to talk about how beautiful these pictures are. >> it is. i can't get enough of it. keep it rolling. it's so cool when you watch the

explosion and what happens after the fact. let's roll that. i want to show you one thing to point out too. there is so much energy in magnetic field associated with this. you see the explosion and then you see the gravitational field suck it back in. see how it is coming back in? not enough energy to get the little bits that got caught up. this happens all the time. we're in an active cycle. on a scale of one to ten it's a five. it's in the medium range. it was not directed at earth so that's good news. you see that on the left side of the sun there. if it was directed at us, we could have ramifications as a result so to speak. >> would it incinerate us in a minute? >> radio blackouts. there could be some interruptions. >> that's worse. >> it would be worse. it could mess with your gps and satellites and those sort of things. this didn't get near us. just beautiful to look at. >> thanks for sharing.

we appreciate it. many people know king james version of the bible even though they never actually read the whole thing. a new translation is out but it does not include the words christ or angel. just ahead, i'll talk to the scholar behind this new book. democrats vow to keep pushing the buffett rule for taxes on millionaires. in a new poll, most americans support it. where does it go from here? it's not dead yet. we'll talk about that. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. [ male announcer ] while others are content to imitate, we'll continue to innovate.

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your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. should marijuana be legalized? the secret service scandal

overshadowed everything else that happened on president obama's trip to colombia. maybe you missed it. the president pretty much put the end on legalizing pot. >> legalization is not the answer. the capacity of a large scale drug trade to dominate certain countries if they were allowed to operate legally without any constraint could be just as corrupting if not more corrupting than the status quo. >> that got the eye of pro-legalization group. marijuana advocates accuse the obama administration of cracking down more on medical marijuana than george bush ever did. the president is more hawkish on drugs than ron paul who says we should legalize pot and heroin.

>> you have a right to do things that are very controversial. if not, you're going to end up with government that's going to tell us what we can eat and drink and whatever. >> according to gallop, 50% of americans think marijuana should be legal. dudes, what about you? talk back question today. should marijuana be legalized? facebook.com/carolcnn. you will not find the words christ, angel or apostle in a new translation of the bible that's just come out. they are well known terms to bible readers. why the change and why now? just ahead i'll put that question to the lead scholar behind the voice. i've discove. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol... the gold standard in anti-aging. clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. nothing's better than gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream.

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opening bell about to ring on wall street. stocks set for a higher open today as investigators keep an eye on key economic reports including housing numbers and building permits. democrats will push the buffett rule on the campaign trail after senate republicans blocked a move to bring it up for a debate. the buffett rule is based on making rich pay their their fair share of taxes. lawmakers want to know why employees got trips to hawaii, gift cards and ipods from taxpayer funds and are hearing from a whistle-blower. secret clearance stripped of 11 members of the secret service. we're now hearing they allegedly visited a brothel. the investigation targets

several members of the u.s. military as well. that prostitution scandal rocking the secret service may cost a lot of agents their jobs all together. one is outraged by one aspect of the story you might have missed. steven colbert of comedy central. let's listen. >> not only does america owe billions to china, we owe $47 to a colombian prostitute. a prostitute your grandkids will have to pay for. >> in the next hour we'll go inside colombia with a colombian reporter who says it the country is known for sex tourism. we'll talk to her live in the next hour. in about a half hour. if you have always wanted to read the bible but find it's a little like reading shakespeare, there's a new alternative.

it's called "the voice." you won't find the word angel, apostle in the book. this is genesis 1:1. it reads in the beginning god created the heavens and earth. the voice reads in the beginning, god created everything. the heavens above and the earth below. here's what happened. >> another popular verse reads "for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotted son that whoever believe in him should have everlasting life." >> for god expressed his world this way. whoever believes in him will not face everlasting destruction but will have everlasting life. i'm joined by the lead scholar of "the voice." >> good to be with you. >> this is a fascinating topic.

you spent seven years working on "the voice." with so many other translations of the bible out there already, why come out with another one? >> that's a great question. there are more bibles today than ever before and more bible translations than ever before. it's the most owned and least read book out there. we wanteded ed ted to give peo of the bible they would not only want to own but would want to read. keith richards of the rolling stones made the statement i read the bible sometimes but i find it deadly boring. we wanted to give keith a copy of the bible and others like keith because there are a lot like him, give him a copy of the bible that frankly he would want to read and he would not want to put down. >> as i said earlier, your translation doesn't use the word christ and i want to show our viewers what's posted on your website as the verse of the day. this is what it says on your website from acts 28:31.

it reads with confidence and no hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of god and taught about the ultimate authority, the lord jesus, god's anointed the liberating king. in says the word lord jesus christ. why eliminate the word christ? >> people don't understand exactly what christ means. you ask a lot of christians and people who read the bible frequently, they think christ is a name. jesus christ. jesus is his first name. christ is his second time. it it's a title. it's expressing the fact they believe that jesus is the long awaited ma eed messiah. we made a decision early in the process not to translate anything. the word christ is not a translation of what the word means, which is anointed one of god. >> i know some people believe christ translates to messiah.

>> exactly. let me express that. the word christ is a greek word. it is a translation of a hebrew word, the messiah. so that word again is not very well understood. we decided to translate every word, every phrase, the only thing that is render in english sounds are names like jesus and peter and paul and mary. those are the things that we decided to do. >> right. i guess it would be a difficult decision. the bible is so precious to so many people. how difficult was it for you to decide to take these words out and are you worried that people won't read the book because you did? >> i don't think so. i guess what we'll see what critics say and what our readers say. we know a lot of people and have

given it to a lot of people that like the king james bible and other modern translations that use those words. we actually did this, carol, for people who don't read the bible at all or very seldom read it. we did it for them. we asked what kinds of questions are they coming to the text with? what do they need to know in order to read the bible for all it's worth? so we decided to make that decision to translate everything to give them the meaning of the text and to give them a sense of where the story, this great story of love and redemption is going. >> professor, thanks so much for joining us this morning. it's a fascinating topic. we appreciate it. >> thanks. good to be with you. we're going to take you live to chantilly, virginia, now. we understand the shuttle is just about to land at dulles airport, which of course as you know is in virginia. the shuttle was on its way from florida and when it lands at dulles here, i guess it won't land right away, it will fly over the washington mall so

people can look up and see it, which is kind of cool and then -- i can hear it in background in the live pictures. it will land at dulles and then it will be taken to the smithsonian so that people can view it as a museum piece. as you know those shuttles retired are moving into a new era of space travel. when we get better pictures of it coming in, we'll take you back. this is dulles airport. it's just about to land. it must be circling the mall. we'll go to a break. when we come back, hopefully we'll be able to see this thing. we'll be back. how's that possi? well, we purchase 3 million a year. you just sold one right now didn't you? that's correct. major brands. 11 major brands. oop,there goes another one. well we'll beat anybody's advertised price. and you just did it right there, what's that called? the low price tire guarantee. wait for it, there goes another one. get a $100 rebate, plus the low price tire guarantee during the big tire event. look at that. it's happening right there every five seconds. your not going to run out are you? no.

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it doesn't look risky. i mean, phil, does this look risky to you? nancy? fred? no. well it is. in a high-risk area, there's a 1-in-4 chance homes like us will flood. i'm glad i got flood insurance. fred, you should look into it. i'm a risk-taker. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. visit floodsmart.gov/risk to learn your risk. >> you are looking at live pictures of the space shuttle "discovery." right now it is flying over dulles airport. it will do a flyover of the airport and then go back and fly over the national mall in washington d.c. came all of the way from florida. our lizzie o'leary is live with

us now. this is an incredible sight. >> reporter: this is an incredible sight, carol. what we're going to see is a fly by here at dulles. there's a crowd here waiting for it. it's coming from the south. everybody has their eyes trained that way. it will fly by here and then spend about half an hour going over the national mall and other parts of downtown d.c. there have been people camped out for hours waiting to see that. it will then land at dulles and as you mentioned before, it goes to the smithsonian. a part of smithsonian based here at dulles that takes about two days to get the shuttle off of that 747 that it is flying on. they call that demating. that's the process for disjoining the two of them. the two-day demating process, carol. >> let's listen to the nasa announcements. they announce it like the space shuttle. let's listen in. >> you are cleared into the washington triarea travel space

area. advise prior to altitude changes. >> copy. >> roger. as the flight is now one mile southwest of you. >> it's pretty cool. just like nasa transmission when the space shuttle blasted off into space. john zarrella watched this thing take off from florida. john, you have a monitor there? are you watching? >> reporter: i'm listening. i can hear it. i know it must be -- it's an absolute spectacular sig sight seeing it come into washington. the last crew that flew "discovery" was out here this morning and hundreds of former space shuttle workers now. for them we say we overuse that word bittersweet, but it is. the program really the exclamation point today on the end of the space shuttle program

as you see "discovery" and we saw it heading north up to dulles. two more to be retired as you know. they still have to retire "endeavour" going out to the california science center in the fall and "atlantis" which will stay here. the only one that doesn't have to be put on the back of the 747, they can just roll it down the road and over to the visitor complex. that will happen sometime late this year as well. carol? >> let's go back to lizzie o'leary. lizzie, i would imagine if you're in washington and didn't know this was happening today and you would look up and you would say to yourself what is that? >> reporter: what in the world is that? you're not just seeing a space shuttle, you're also seeing a space shuttle on top of a 747. we're starting to get some folks very excited about it here. everybody has their eyed trained on the south. as john was talking about, this is really the signature capstone on 30-year shuttle program. one of the things that is

important to point out is that this is really the sister ship of all of those other shuttles that we have spent so much time looking at and covering and it's flown 39 missions since 1984. it's been up in space a lot. the enterprise has been here but it didn't go up into space so once the "discovery" rests here, people will get a good look at something that flew 39 times into space. >> has it turned around to head back to the mall? >> reporter: not yet. it's still going to be a fly by here. you heard them when you were listening to the air traffic control, the call sign of this plane is pluto 95. nasa 905 is the specially designed 747. that's the plane they are referring to that's carrying "discovery." >> so a lot of people are planning to go to washington,

d.c. and visit the smithsonian this summer. will they be able to see the space shuttle like this summer? >> reporter: absolutely. they'll be able to see it later this year. remember, right now they can see "enterprise." eventually that will go to new york and "discovery" will be here. people will get a close look at a shuttle that has really gone and done this a lot and carried many astronauts into space many times. be able to get up close and personal. you can get close to "discovery" right now. soon they'll be able to -- to "enterprise rig "enterprise" right now. soon they'll get to be up close with "discovery." >> we're going to take a break. hopefully on the other side of the break we'll get a clear indication of where this -- we're not leaving. we're staying with it because we're afraid it's going to do something cool if we leave. >> reporter: you can see on the

nasa pictures -- >> i lied. we're going to go to bureaucratibreak. we'll be back. in terms of savins how would you sum it up? big in your own words, with respect to selection, what would you say? big okay, let's talk rebates mike, they're big they're big get $100 rebate, plus the low price tire guarantee during the big tire event. so, in other words, we can agree that ford's tire event is a good size? big big mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

>> you are looking at the space shuttle "discovery" on top of a boeing 747. eventually that space shuttle will make its way to the smithsonian. it's supposed to circle dulles airport and then go to the national mall. circle there and then come back. let's listen to the nasa transmission for a bit. >> pluto, runway one right clear for low approach. winds 330 at 157.

>> this picture is so magnificent. i can't believe it. lizzie o'leary, i know you are still out there. are people out there watching with you? >> reporter: absolutely. there are a couple hundred people up where i am on this balcony and then below us down in the parking lot there have been families camped fought a couple of hours with lawn chairs waiting to see this. you heard them say pluto 95. that's the 747's call sign. they are going to eventually land. when you hear them talking about one right. that's the runway they'll land on in dulles. first, there will be a spectacular fly by for people in downtown d.c. we'll see it first here at dulles and then a pretty low fly by near the national mall and a

series of monuments. if you are looking up in washington, d.c., you're going to get an amazing sight which is the shuttle piggy backed on top of a boeing 747. >> why did nasa decide to do this flyover over washington, d.c. and over the national mall? >> reporter: well, this is a bit of a good-bye to the shuttle program, which is ending after 30 years so you may have just heard a whoa. people are starting to see it come into view. here it comes. you won't get a shot. there you go. you see nasa tv shot and it is pretty amazing. it's going to go just right over basically where i am. give it about 15 seconds.

>> lizzie, i know that is not blasting off into space but it gives you chills. >> reporter: it really does. that was quite an amaze flyover. it went right over our heads here. it also has an escort plane with it. a t-38. that was the signal when we saw that thing going up in the air that the shuttle was coming soon and that we would get that spectacular fly by. it will only take a few minutes to reach downtown washington. people there will get some great views as this thing charts its path right around the national monument. >> john zarrella is in florida where this thing took off. john, i'm amazed at how small the shuttle looks in comparison to the boeing 747.

i don't think we have john zarrella. i'll pose that question to you, lizzie. we always have this picture in our mind that the shuttle is huge. >> reporter: yes, you do. this shuttle initially clocked in at about 167,000 pounds. it is big. but that 747 pretty much looks like it dwarfs it. that's a specially modified 747. they do use it. they have useded it in the past to carry shuttles when they need to be repaired and things like that but it's basically built to get to piggyback a shuttle on top of it. it is pretty amazing when you realize the size of the two of these things put together. one thing i want to point out, there are probably according to folks we spoke to out here, about five people in the cockpit. usually when you fly a 747, you have three. this is a special flight to have a couple extra people in there today. >> okay. we have john zarrella on the phone.

tell us what the feeling was like when this 747 took off with the shuttle on its back from florida. >> reporter: i think it was pretty close to what lizzie is experiencing and folks out there experiencing as well. you know, it did a flyover here. after it took off, it flew down the beach and circled back and went over launch pad 39-a where it had lifted off so many times before, carol, and then it through over the visitor's c complex and over the landing strip where all of us were and where it took off from. it was right off the deck. a couple hundred feet off the ground as it flew by us and then headed due north into that clear blue sky heading up to dulles where it is about to arrive now. you know, i had with me during that live moment as it took off, i had bob, head of the kennedy space center now, he had flown

on four shuttles. his first flight was 22 years ago on "discovery" as a pilot and he flew "discovery" twice. he just said, you know what? he thought that all of the tears were behind him and it had been out of his system by now. when we saw "discovery" lifting off, you see his eyes welling up again because it is for so many people who have lost their jobs and been part of the program for 30 years, this is a sad, sad day, you know, to see the first of these three orbiters go to head off to museum. carol? >> even in washington, d.c. at dulles international airport, you know, when that thing flew over, people are camped out for hours waiting to get a glimpse of it. we heard the reaction of the crowd, lizzie. people were overcome. >> absolutely. and you heard the reaction from the crowd up here which is where people are up on the balcony getting to look at this and

there was even a reaction down below. people who have been waiting for quite a long time to see it fly over. i have to tell you it cleared our view, came in to the view quite quickly over a building and not only see it with a few hundred feet from where we are but a really spectacular moment when it burst in to view and that's the view that people are going to be getting in downtown d.c. not something you see there every day. >> okay. i think we have a shot of people on the national mall waiting for the flyover so -- oh, isn't that beautiful? i'm sorry. washington, d.c. is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, especially in the springtime and people get to look up and see a fantastic sight overhead. what could be better than that, lizzie o'leary? >> look. this is a city that's jaded about a lot of things and different things in the air. you see people, oh, there's the president going by in the helicopter. not today. this is obviously a historic flight to get to see and a

historic sight to see those two enormous aircraft mated together flying essentially as one and as you and john were talking about, they move together as one. it is moving on the back of a 747 which is pretty magnificent thing to see on its own. add to that, a shuttle that's been in space 39 times. that is something that none of those folks on the mall have ever seen before and probably certainly never going to see again. >> unless they go to the smi smithsonian and see it for free. which is cool, it's all free. now back to john zarrella. how long does it take for the shuttle to get from dulles -- i'm sorry, from the mall back to dulles? >> i'm not sure exactly how long it will take. not too long at all. even though it's moving very slowly, you know, relatively speaking, it's very heavy, not real aerodynamic.

i expect in ten, 15 -- depending. you know, i was talking to the shuttle commander again bob cabana. you have guys flying this thing and they're going to -- they have a flight plan to follow but even here they left early this -- earlier than we expected. they did some fly arounds that were not quite expected, a little bit of a deviation. so, you know, it's not like the space shuttle when it lifts off from pad 39da out here and know what it's going to go. either goes or doesn't goe. they have some leeway here built in to their schedule but they have to be on the ground they said by 10:30 because of air traffic in and around the area. i'm sure lizzie can speak more to that. they wanted it on the ground by 10:30 when traffic gets heavy up in the washington, d.c. area. >> we'll be back with more coverage of the space shuttle going to the smithsonian. zap technology.

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okay. we are still watching these fantastic pictures of the space shuttle "discovery xw" on the b of the 747. it's flying over the washington mall and the monuments. i think they're all crowded in there now. people are waiting for a last glimpse before it goes in to the museum at the smithsonian institution. jeff fishel usually does sports for us but it's just awesome. >> it is. it's great. i'll briefly tell a story. i got attend a space shuttle landing in california. my grandfather worked for nasa for many years and i was lucky enough to be at a landi ining a

after it landed, they fly it back and i saw it truly -- this image is what i remember from my childhood realizing, oh my gosh, it's hoonlg but not as big as a 747 and that -- so it's funny you started that conversation because it's exactly a memory of my childhood. >> isn't it strange how looking at the space shuttle brings up the emotions inside of you? >> absolutely. again, going back to my childhood, one of the most exciting memories i had, watching it land, hearing the booms before you see it. yeah. truly. >> now it's in a museum and you feel really old, don't you? >> just one reason i feel old. >> exactly. lizzie's at dulles airport which is in virginia and there were a crowd of people and when that thing passed over dulles, you know, just tell us about the emotion people felt. >> oh, you certainly had people cheering and shouting and in part because it came -- cleared

over the building here and it's part of the smithsonian. think of it as the castle on the national mall but there's a special part out here that is an extension of the air and space museum and that's where "discovery" will live. people can see it as early as friday. it takes a couple of days to de-mate it. that's the term they use. and then it will be here at this part of the smithsonian near dulles airport where people can come and see it so the people who have been camping out here will have a chance to come back and in the next few days if they want a closer look at "discovery" and we'll get another look. it will come in and land, landing here following the same flight path as the flyover. >> gotcha. i can't tell whether it's turned around yet or flown over the national mall. has it, lizzie? do you know? >> well, we have seen some pictures of it over the national mall and they had scheduled about a half hour flyover or so

of the washington area. you heard john talk about it. this is a special flight so the exact flight plan hasn't been as to the letter as you would see in a normal shuttle flight if they were delivering the shuttle, for example, somewhere else but certainly they're taking a special flight, if you will, over downtown d.c. >> yeah. i don't think blasting in to space is quite the same as flying over dulles and the national mall but that's why they have to be exacting when they do stuff like that in to space. we expect it to land at 10:15 eastern time at dulles and we are going to bring you those pictures so don't worry. we'll be up and running. you won't miss it. let's go back to john zarrella in florida. lizzie told me there were five people on board the plane flying that thing. do you know who's in there? >> i don't know their names. i was talking -- and i believe -- i was told there's

four and they're nasa employees. i think a couple of astronaut pilots up there as part of this flight crew but that 747 is stripped down. it is literally just an a flying gas can, you know, on wings because it has to carry the shuttle and no seats in that 747. so they can't take any passengers on joyrides. and there are no luggage on board. other than the astronaut crew or the pilot, the co-pilot, the flight engineer and whoever the fourth person is. i was told there's four. what's that shuttle there behind john zarrella? they have had to play musical shuttles. it's not a real shuttle. the tiles are real. actually the wheels are real, as well. but that was the one that used to be over at the visitor complex. it's supposed to go out to houston to end up out in houston as part of their exhibit out there. so they had to pull it out from the complex to make room for

"atlantis" going over there in the fall and we know "endeavour" goes to california in the fall. "enterprise" heading up to new york and so they're playing musical shuttles right now and so a lot of moving parts to get the vehicles in place, you know, by the end of the year and early next year when the museums are supposed to be up and running with the vehicles, vehicles inside it. carol? >> let me reset things. we have hit 10:00 eastern time. actually, 10:01 now. you are looking at "discovery" on the back of a boeing 747. took off from florida about two hours ago i would say. and eventually it's going to land at dulles international airport. and then -- this is the takeoff right here. see how beautiful that is. how crazy that looks. that looks awesome. it will land at dulles international airport around 10:15 eastern time and from there taken in to the

smithsonian and you can go in and look according to lizzie, our correspondent on the scene. friday, check it out, in washington. john zarrella, i'm curious, how did they get the shuttle on the back of the 747? >> they have a contraption out here at the kennedy space center, literally, and it looks like a giant crane and they move the shuttle underneath it, they lift it up, they absolutely lift it up and then they bring the 747 underneath it and they lower the shuttle on top of the 747 and then they secure those struts on top there of the -- between the 747 and the bottom of the space shuttle. and then they put that cone on the back of the space shuttle. where the engines would be, it's a cone. it looks like the back of a duck. the duck's dpeters so it's more

aerodynamic flying on the back. i hate to equate the shuttle to a duck but it kind of looks like that in the back as it's flying on that 747. that will be removed. they'll take that off and then they'll put the tail cones back on. the shuttle's nozzles, the engine nozzles back on. remember, there are no engines in there. they have been removed. the shuttle's three main engines that power in it to orbit are out and won't be put in. nasa believes they will be reused and taken the engines out, a lot of the sensitive things out of the cockpit. thing that is are proprietary so there's instrumentation that's been removed and, you know, one thing people may find, carol, can't go inside the space shuttles when they're in these exhibits. you can walk up close to them, see in. pending how they're exhibited but you will not be allowed to go in there and touch them

because that would over the course of time degrade them. they don't want -- these are as i was told and everyone can imagine, these are national trs treasures. >> i think you are right about that. let's go to dulles international airport in virginia near washington, d.c. and bring people up to date with what's happened this morning, lizzie. >> well, what we had this morning, carol, was the first of the flyovers. you had people out here at what will be "discovery's" home. came in and did a low flyover, a few hundred feet above where we are and not far from the runway where it will land after it's done its tour of the national monument. it's a tourist right now. it will come back here and basically follow the same flight path from the south and land here at dulles which then you heard john describe the process of how they get it on to the 747. it's essentially the same thing in reverse.

using that crane-like contraption to get the shuttle off. about two days and take it in to the part of the smithsonian out here near dulles. pretty soon people will start assembling for the arrival of the shuttle. we know it can't be quite so soon yet because they had a plane come through the air space. they tend to get everything out of the air space before the shuttle arrives. that was our clue last time. we watched the air space clear out and then we knew it was coming. >> i think we are -- well, we are scheduled to land in seven or eight minutes but things happening earlier than we expected and we expect the thing to land shortly. tell us the number of people who showed up to watch this historic event. >> well, there are several hundred people here and one of the things that i think is the coolest is you do have people in position to watch the flyover but then over near the runway where this plane is supposed to land the plane carrying the

shuttle, you probably have somewhere between 75 and 100 people just right near the edge of the runway. these are people plane spotters times a thousand. people like to do this at regular airports. this is the chance to see a 747 land with the shuttle on top of it. you have a little crowd over there right at the base of the runway waiting for that. >> yeah. you don't see that every day, do you? let's go back to florida and check in with john szarrella. i bet this is the end of an era for them but not only them but a new economy for them, as well. >> yeah. there's no question about it. you talked to people here. we were talking yesterday with a long-time shuttle worker, terry white's his name. very famous. a white handlebar mustache. worked processing shuttles for literally 30 years. he can't find work. this guy with his credentials cannot find work here.

if he wants to work in his field of expertise, he will have to leave florida. go to washington state, california, wherever. that is the same for so, so many people. while we talk and salute this and the grand and glorious, you know, fly around here and then up in dulles, it's important to note that there is a lot of angst over the fact that the plug was pulled on the shuttle program, politically things didn't work out the way they were. and i have been told by many, many people close to the program and certainly with a vested interest, you know, it was too soon to pull the plug. we knew we had to move on in space exploration but for, you know, what amounts to a couple of million dollars a year extra in the budgets, nasa's budget, they could have continued flying shuttle until something else was ready. and as we know for the next at least four years the united states is going to be relying on the russians to get its

astronauts to the international space station at a cost of $60 million a seat. every ride. $60 million. so, you know, it's not -- it's a great celebration today but lest we not forget that, you know, the united states now has no access on its own to get astronauts in to space. and that's something a lot of people here are very, very upset and very -- and still very angry and bitter about. carol? >> private companies, they're going to take some of the -- i mean, they'll fly people to the -- astronauts to the international space station. that's right, right? >> absolutely. and then space x seems to be the leader right now in the driver's seat. two weeks from now performing the biggest test to date for the company. they're going to -- from just a couple of miles from here launching the dragon space capsule on top of the falcon

rocket. never done by a commercial company. three, four, five nations in the world are the only ones that did it. if this is successful, he'll then start carrying cargo and within three to four years by 2016 he and other competitors, other companies hope to start carrying u.s. astronauts for a fraction of what the russians are charging us to the international space station. carol? >> so what is nasa doing now? >> ah. now that -- and in fact i was talking to astronauts today who said, you know what? we need smoke and fire. and what that means is, in 2014, nasa is hoping that it will fly its first test flight of the orion spacecraft, the one they believe to take the astronauts to oasteroids and on to mars. 2014 from here on top of an atlas rocket. the first test flight of this

thing, 5,000 miles and then a high speed reentry through the earth's atmosphere to imlate what it's coming back from a mars trip and nasa knows they need to do this to get inspiration going again and peoples' juices flowing again because the longer you sit on the ground, without your own access to space, the more as astronauts have put it to me, the more the country is going to get comfortable with that idea. and that they do not want to see happen. >> although it's difficult to -- they're now competing against private companies, right? >> well, they're not going to be competing for deep space exploration. this was the whole plan was turn over low earth orbit to private companies. let them have contracts with us, nasa. we pay them to take our astronauts to the space station. that way we can spend the money, the bulk of that very -- you know, $18 billion budget is all they have and not a lot of

money. you know? less than half of 1% of the federal budget. they can then spend that money on what nasa does best. exploration, like taking people to the moon when the astronauts went to the moon and now they can concentrate on taking humans, you know, out to a ost ro asteroid, on to mars. they're not saddled is a way to put it with worrying about ferrying people back and forth to the space station because they'll have commercial companies do it. problem is there was no bridge between -- the russians are the bridge now when shuttle is over as we know and when the first commercial companies and that's barring any setbacks. if there are setbacks in the commercial -- with commercial companies and they can't make 2016, it could be even further out that we are going to be relying on the russians to get our astronauts to the space

station. >> yeah. i mean, i can't believe it. a couple of years ago talking about maybe going to mars but nobody's talking about that anymore. let's go back to dulles international airport and lizzie o'leary and pulled a shuttle observer aside. introduce us. >> yes. i'm standing with a professional shuttle watcher. jennifer lavasser a part of this and a part of the museum here. tell us what people will be able to see as soon as "discovery" is in this building. >> oh, well, i think not too dissimilar from what they see now. space shuttle "enterprise" held the position for many years and "discove "discovery" is a fantastic-looking well worn space shuttle. that's the major difference to notice that this massive piece of machinery is weather beaten. it's been through 39 missions and really looking forward to be

able to tell the flight story side of the space shuttle program. >> speaking of the flight story, you have a couple people on hand today who flew in "discovery." >> yeah. we have a few astronaut friends here today. we have two astronauts that flew on "discovery" and another on the other shuttle missions so we're really lucky to have them as members of the national air and space society and with us to enjoy this occasion. >> when you look outside, we've been taking a peek at the hundreds of people who have been out here for a long time. how early did they get here? >> i was here just before 5:00 i think it was -- no. 6:00 and they were already waiting outside. so it's had a little bit of a tailgating football game type of vibe to it. i saw some kids playing football. this is really exciting for the local community. >> it both has that celebratory feel and also hearing from the folks at kennedy, this is the end of the space shuttle

program. there are people here who are saying good-bye to what was 30 years of space flight that sort of symbolized a lot of things about america. what's that like? >> yeah. it is a little bittersweet especially for those people who worked on the program. the astronauts, the other administrators and whatnot. it's really -- it's a sad moment for them but i think for us it's sort of a beginning of a new story and an exciting story for us at the museum to tell and tell this really fascinating story of the most historic space shuttle and all of the missions that it did. it's really a great opportunity for us and sort of a beginning and an end in a way. so we just -- we can't wait to get on with our mission as the museum and telling america the story of "discovery." >> thank you so much. we are waiting probably 15 minutes? >> about that. >> probably about 15 minutes for "discovery" to come back around

and taking its time checking out washington, d.c. it's my hometown and i understand. i'm prejudicial toward d.c. and then coming here and it will come from the south, fly over again so the people who are having that sort of tailgate party in the front lot will be able to see it again and then land on the right runway over here. >> yeah. and enjoying more frosty cold beverages, i'm sure. i had a question about who was flying that plane and i knew john zarrella would get the answer and he has it. john? >> i think, you know what? first, i think they're taking pictures of there from the 747. they're probably taking their pictures of washington, d.c. as they're flying over taking their time while everybody's taking pictures of them. we have a commander on board. and there are -- there's a weather pilot on board, of course, the weather's perfect and probably just enjoying the ride.

there's another pilot on board. a commander, two pilots, they're specially trained crew. you have an faa representative and two flight engineers. i thought there were four. what i was told but there's six people on this flight bringing "discovery" in to dulles. and again, special ly trained crew. weights and balances are critical. it's piggyback. not like anything else that anyone else has flown a shuttle on the back of a 747. not easy to do so these guys know what they're doing. they have done it before. you know? on the times when they have transported shuttles across country from california, you know, in the early days of the program they didn't land at kennedy space center. they made sure the bugs were out and landed on the fly lake bed in california. and then they would stick the shuttle on a 747 and ferry it out here because they had wide open space there. they didn't have to worry about mishaps of running off a runway

or anything like that like they would here. until they were comfortable with landing here that's what they did and with weather issues thak that couldn't land here they went to california and ferry the shuttles back and takes several days or a week to get it back. if weather's a problem, they have to wait out the weather until they could head on to the next stop along the route. so, these guys know what they're doing flying this thing. and, you know, that's certainly a good thing that they know what they're doing. carol? >> so now lizzie, i'm curious. is this thing going to land on a normal runway at dulles? >> it is going to land on a normal runway at dulles. it will land on runway 1r. when you are hearing and playing that little clip of the air traffic control, you could hear them talking to the pilots and the call sign of the plane, pluto and the 1r runway for the

plane and talking about the kind of winds feeling and probably a head wind. the wind coming out of the north and they will be coming on approach up from the south. you just saw a few minutes ago you got to see the great shot of the shuttle and the 747 banking near the u.s. capitol. remember, this is an air space that is often quite protected. you don't get to see a lot of planes flying low and close over the national mall on any occasion to see really a double decker contraption with the shuttle on it is doubly unusual. >> looked really cool and looked like the jefferson memorial, too. i only saw half the monument so i couldn't tell but what an awesome sight. hopefully it will be landed when we come back. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix,

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okay. you are looking at the space shuttle "discovery" on the back of a 747. it is flying over washington, d.c. sort of a final farewell to the space shuttle mission and "discovery" and then eventually land we think 10:30 eastern time at dulles taken to a building that's part of the smithsonian institution and if you're in washington, d.c. this friday you can go in and look at the shuttle "discovery" up close and personal on display. lizzie o'leary at dulles. introduce to joseph allen. >> yeah. carol, you said up close and personal. joe allen is up close and personal with "discovery" and "columbia." you flew on both shuttles. what is it like to fly inside "discovery"? >> the most fun you can imagine. it's just the most -- it's an out of the world experience without any question.

it's, of course, silent. it's very quiet. and you're floetding all the time. and you're moving at such a rate of speed. it is hard to believe. >> describe for me, you're a mission specialist. tell us taking and removing satellites in orbit. >> we call it a space transportation system so basically the shuttle was used to deliver things to orbit. satellites, but also, the international space station piece by piece by piece and pick up things in orbit. our mission this is number 14, we picked up two large satellites, brought them back. they were in perfectly good working condition but they were in the wrong place so we salvaged them, brought them back and they were refurbished on the ground and later relaunched. >> you had a particularly historic experience. you have an astronaut for 18 years but you were in the control room for what? >> well, for the "apollo"

missions so i talked to people on the moon before i'd ever made an international telephone call if you can believe that. >> that's amazing. this is with this flight really the end of the shuttle program. seeing "discovery" come to the resting place here. what's that like for you? >> i have a tear in my eye and i will when i see it again. >> did you when it came over us early? >> i did, yeah. it's very, very emotional experience and i'm sorry that the nation is out of the space travel business for a while but hopefully we'll get back in. >> joseph allen, thank you very, very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> joseph allen who flew on "discovery" and "columbia" and a sister ship to "discovery." we are waiting for it to come back here after the flyover of the national mall, carol. it should be here in probably -- everybody's looking at the watches and coming back out to the deck to look.

probably about eight, ten minutes. we are hoping. >> i think she is taking her time, lizzie. i do. back to florida. john zarrella, lizzie spoke with a former nasa astronaut and had a tear in his eye and i know you heard emotional stories from astronauts there in florida that watched it take off for washington. >> no question about it. joe allen, wonderful, wonderful human being. i've, you know, i've spoken with him on many occasions and the flight he was described picking up the two satellites and brought them back, i'll never forget the images. here are guys out there with the man maneuvering units over to the satellites, hooking on to the satellites and then driving them back in to the cargo bay and held up a sign in the mid deck area after they'd made the successful recovery of the satellite and all smiling and they held up a sign saying ace repo company.

that's what their name was. you know? it's phenomenal what the accomplishments of the space shuttle were over the years. certainly we know about the tragic accidents but the astronauts that i spoke with here, the seven -- the six, six who flew on the very last "discovery" mission february 14 months ago, the to a person, their word was, you know, it's sad. it's sad to see it go. we know we have to move on as a nation to something new. something that is safer. more reliable. down the road. but without question, the shuttles still could have flown. there was a lot of good life left in those vehicles. you know? as every -- as commander steve lindsey told me that commanded the last flight and he was the head of the astronaut office in houston, said to me, you know, their mantra after the "columbia" accident to make each

flight safer and safer until the very last shuttle flight would be the safest they ever flew and clearly -- i see a picture of nasa now the runway of dulles and probably getting close. every shuttle flight was clean and perfect in those last missions. no glitches. and they're very, very proud at nasa of that accomplishment. >> it's interesting. i was there in florida for the last takeoff of the shuttle along with you, john zarrella and on a beach far from the launch pad and you could see it take off. there's hundreds of people there. and you felt americans coming together. let's watch the landing. shall we? oh, i'm sorry. this is the takeoff. i thought it was the landing already. going back to my story, you could feel like a patriotic spirit among the crowd. they were singing patriotic songs, hands over the hearts, people were crying. it was just -- you felt that america came together as that

shuttle took off. that's a feeling we don't get much in america anymore. >> no, no. beyond that from a scientific standpoint or a standpoint of the future, you know, so many young people in this country during the apollo years and watching americans walk on the moon, you know, a dozen americans walked on the moon. people who saw that, so much inspiration. so many people that went in to the sciences, in to math, in to engineering, in to astronomy. all of that great push in the sciences, sciences in our universities was a result almost directly of the apollo era and the space shuttle era. one of the great concerns that we have in this country now is that with the inspiration of shuttle, you know, gone, is there going to be a lag? is there going to be, you know, sort of a downturn in people getting in to the maths and

sciences? are we going to relinquish our place as a leader to other nations because of the fact we no longer have that inspirational flight that people as you said, people look up and you see that and you go, wow. that's spectacular. >> man, i'm doing it now. >> we let it go. >> i want to interpret you for a second. helicopters are hovering over dulles on the runway where this is supposed to land. what are they doing, john? >> yeah. they're going to probably -- they'll be recording it. probably live pictures from the helicopters, as well. and i think nasa knows that, you know, you've been on. we have all been on and milking this and fly until -- maybe we should tell them it's time to land. you know? they're really getting their money's worth out of in flyover right now. you have the helicopters up. you will probably get nasa -- nasa will have pictures of the

vehicle from both the ground and probably from helicopter shots, as well. >> all right. let's go back and check in be lizzie. >> there it is. >> what's happening? >> all right. so we are seeing the t-38 come in which is the plane that's been accompanying the shuttle. and off in the distance there's something that everybody is starting to point at. over my right shoulder. you have the nasa shot that's better. it will begin a slow bank around. right now, the plane is flying south and going to land from the south and will come around and then land on this runway essentially come from the south and land north. you can see it starting to come in. >> so this is the chase plane we're seeing. >> everybody is trained watching this thing. >> we were just seeing a picture of the chase plane landing. >> oh yes. yes. >> so that's that. so is everyone holding their breath now? >> that's a t-38. everyone is holding their breath

waiting for the double contraption which is kind of passing just behind me. and it's essentially going to bank around before it comes in for a landing and it will land on almost the exact same path that you saw on the flyover before. that shot that came right over everybody's head, it's going to do it again and get down on runway 1r. >> that was spectacular, lizzie. >> you are definitely going to get it again. and i think joe allen who we talked to described it as having a tear in his eye. he probably won't be the only one watching that with the same reaction. >> you think nasa's milking this? they're doing the transmission. let's listen. >> copy that. 1219 at the end here.

>> i think they stopped talking as soon as i did that, lizzie. i heard it like in the background. i think they're flying at 2,000 feet but i'm not quite sure about that. can you see it? >> i can see it. yep. i can see it in the air behind me. just essentially right off my right shoulder and you are starting to see a long, low loop and going to do a long, low loop before turning and making the final approach here at dulles and as you noted you pointed out the helicopters, carol. that's what happens when they close the air space. we knew that that was the signal that it was coming. and it's going to be making its way around. probably a few more minutes before it makes the spectacular shot. >> so is john did rezarrella ri? is nasa milking this? >> i tell you, carol.

it's great. it's great theater. no question about it. we use that word bittersweet and it is bittersweet theater to watch it coming around there. you know, the t-38 that flew in ahead, we saw it leave here just before the shuttle, you know, left here this morning. and, you know, that's the training aircraft that the astronauts always fly in on. the cries arrive here at the kennedy space center and fly in in the t-38s. and they fly in out of houston. in fact, there were three of those t-38s or four of them parked out there today. and that was from the crew that was -- that was here that sts-131 crew to fly "discovery" that flew in. several of them. there you go. you can see it really clearly now coming in to view there on that nasa television picture.

just what a spectacular sight. just absolutely awesome. >> have you been inside a shuttle, john? >> yeah. you know, i almost -- i hate to bring that up because it feels like i'm gloating but, yeah, i've been inside two of the three shuttles. inside "endeavour" and "discovery." just after it returned from its final flight with bob cabana, the head of the space center that flown it twice. you know, i've -- this one story i have said all the time, it is small. people think it's huge. the cargo bay is enormous but that mid deck section where we see -- not where the pilot and co-pilot sit but the mid deck area where they're hanging out in the missions and all, seems like it's really big but when you stand inside there, it's not much bigger than the size of some people's walk-in closet. it is, it is pretty cramped in there and they have -- that's

where their food is, their bathroom is. that's where they hang out. you know? so much is done there. and all the avionics in there. it's really small. i have crawled in and crawled through and sat up in the commander's seat and that is something that i will absolutely take to my grave as two moments in history for me that i will never, ever forget is those opportunities, yeah. >> i totally get that. that's something to cherish. barbara starr is on the line now. she is talking to her friends and sources at the pentagon and they have been watching this, too. barbara? >> well, absolutely, carol. we all went outside. hundreds of people at the pentagon pouring outside on this beautiful morning to watch the fly by. everyone was out there from the lowest ranking privates and sergeants all the way up to generals and admirals with stars on their shoulders. everybody wanted to go outside and have a look. you know, here at the pentagon, you don't often get to report news with a smile on your face.

something pleasant. this really was a beautiful morning. a lot of air force people out there cheering it on. the shuttle flew right over our heads and people erupted in cheers. there were horns honking on the road next to us. so a lot of -- for once, for once, a lot of good cheer here at the pentagon and a lot of kind of warm feelings by the military looking at this piece of history passing them by. we were able to chat with a couple of different air force people out there who offered all kinds of thoughts and advice about what was going on, kind of explained the chase plane bit to us. i think we're all waiting to see what photos the crew up in the shuttle and in the chase plane got of washington out on the streets this morning looking up at them. we are going to have some pictures we'll post on our own cnn security clearance blog a little bit later of our very unique view here at the pentagon because it was fascinating.

it just went right over our heads. we could see the underbelly of the whole thing. very close by. and then, of course, we have all been watching as it continues sort of on this slow loop around the nation's capital and gets ready to land at dulles airport. >> we think it's making the final turn and it will land in an a couple of minutes but we have been wrong before. but we think it will land shortly. planes don't fly over the pentagon every day. >> well, they don't. i mean, there's a lot of bad memories of what happened here more than ten years ago. for people to be looking at planes, smiling, honking horns, claps and laughing is a change of what this building and these people have known here. this was a morning all of good feelings about seeing a plane flying overhead and that was an awfully nice -- an awfully nice thing to see and a really nice thing to be able to report for once around here.

>> oh, yeah. very cleansing. >> a real piece of history, you know, flying by. i think that's part of the reason that so many military people came out of their offices to stand on the pentagon lawn, on the bridges, on the road around the building to have a look up in to the skies and see this piece of history flying by. sort of the -- i suppose the real marriage of civilian space technology with some help from the military. >> thank you, barbara. let's go back to lizzie o'leary. what do you think? >> well, it is making its final turn. but this is we should point out a very, very big double contraption because you have got, of course, both the shuttle and a 747, both of which are very large and the final turn is not exactly like pulling a

u-turn in the car. it takes quite a bit for it to come all the way around. it came around behind us. making the final turn out of view and then will come back this way, go behind me and land just over there. this is a long process believe it or not to maneuver that very large contraption around to get it down on to the runway and should come right over our heads, probably in a few minutes, five, six minutes is the guess right now. as you pointed out, we have been a little bit wrong before and waiting for this thing to come in to view. >> okay. so dulles is a busy airport. they're not closing it down for this, right? still up and running. >> yeah. they've been closing the air space in the times when the shuttle has been either on its fly by or getting ready to land. and that, of course, has been sort of what everyone here is watching and waiting for. we have seen some other planes be able to come in and out this morning but at the times where it's getting critical like right

now, this air space is closed. you only see news airports for a perfect image of the shuttle landing. >> when you're flying, sometimes you can like look out and see another plane that's landing. can you imagine looking out the window saying what is that? >> well, absolutely. and people have captured great images before out of airplane windows of shuttle launches. that is something that people like to do. and in fact, we've had someone -- i think of "discovery" that people have taken essentially leaning over and maybe climbing over the person next to them taking a shot out the window but i should say that everybody, several hundred people up here, we are all sort of peering out toward the sky and that tailgate atmosphere of people down in the parking lot beneath us all watching, too. everybody is turned and waiting on this approach path waiting for the final landing. >> okay. so it takes a couple of minutes. we'll take another break. we have to make the money here at cnn but we won't miss the landing.

don't worry. we'll be right back. i went to a small high school. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us.

welcome back. welcome to the international viewers around the world. we are waiting, the space shuttle "discovery" on the back of a boeing 747. took off from florida earlier this morning flying to dulles international airport and then taken in to a big warehouse that's part of the smithsonian institution and people will be able to see it, look at it in the museum on the ground. we are just waiting for it to take its final turn over dulles international airport in virginia and land. lizzie o'leary is giving us fantastic coverage. this is the final turn, right? >> right. i wish i could tell you that i could see the entire approach path, carol. the building that "discovery" will finally rest in taken off

that specially modified 747 in some ways blocks the view of the flight path and get ready to hear that cheer coming in to view. it's started and already taken part of that final turn. come around. and essentially it is landing from the south and that's the path it will take when it lands here at dulles. it is a little windy. a little bit of a head wind and nothing to a 747. >> i understand perfectly. john zarrella is in florida. he watched this thing take off earlier this morning. tell us again who's on board that plane, john. >> well, you have got a commander on board the plane and then along with the commander, you have a weather pilot and, of course, he just got to sit back and relax today. there wasn't any weather here and none up in washington. such a gorgeous day. another pilot, as well. you have an faa representative and two flight engineers as well. you had six people on board and, you know, carol, i think when

they send "endeavour" out to california i'll see if you and i and lizzie if she wants to go, hitch a ride in the 747 when they take "endeavour" to california. that would be pretty cool. >> are you kidding? >> i think lizzie and i are in! >> i think it's a pipe dream on my part but it's good to dream. >> oh, it sure is. you have to dream and dream big. right? >> you know -- and yeah. and, you know, carol, carol, real quick anecdote to what barbara starr said. the shuttle "atlantis" was going to do the secret missions for the military and they had built an entire shuttle complex out at vandanberg airport and after the "challenger" accident when it took place, that was the end of the plans and the military decided, nope, we are not going to rely on the space shuttles but it was built to be a military shuttle and fly the

secret spy satellites and d.o.d. missions out of california. >> wow. fascinating history. you know that boeing 747 with the space shuttle "discovery" on the back flew the washington mall, flew past the washington monument, the national harbor in washington, the jefferson memorial, the pentagon. what an amazing sight for people on the ground and, lizzie, you were describing how people are holding their breath right now at dulles international airport waiting for the plane to land. >> they're waiting for this plane to land and, carol, it's going to land on a runway two miles long. remember, it takes a fair amount of runway and it's the space needed to get going and take off both with the 747 and then with the shuttle on top of it. they also need a pretty long runway to land here, too. just because of the size of what we're talking about. both the shuttle and then the

larger plane, that is retro fitted to carry it. >> are the helicoptering still hovering or gone now? >> they are. they are hovering above this runway. we are in suspended animation mode at this point. we can see the helicopters and at this point we are all staring in to this little bit of sky where we know that discovery and the ship that you have heard it referred to as pluto 9-5 on the air traffic control. listening to the air traffic controllers, that's the call sign. i know you were playing that earlier. >> it is cool, actually. nasa's, you know, they're transmitting just as if they would if the shuttle is taking off and blasting in to space. let's listen for second. >> subject aircraft is making a left turn to the northwest about 320 heading out of here on the go climbing up to 3,000. >> thank you.

>> for you other guys, the aircraft is climbing up to the northwest, climbing well above you but in your vicinity. >> roger. we'll keep an eye out. >> we're taking a look at the traffic, lizzie. nasa wanted to land before traffic is heavy at washington, d.c. but i guess it's too late for that, huh? >> yeah. it's a little too late for that. actually, the one big road on the way out and back from dulles is probably your most trafficked road in washington. people talk about the beltway but that's not the bad one. the one out here is. you probably have amazed drivers wondering about the sky above them as they got a view of the shuttle on the way both to and from the national mall because it would have gone right over the traffic that you showed that picture of. >> yeah. if i was stuck in traffic and i didn't know why i was stuck in traffic and then found out later i missed the space shuttle over

the highway, i would be really mad. let's go back to john zarrella. i'm wondering about the helicopters. why are they there? >> some could be media helicopters, as well. there it is coming in. that's a sensational shot. hopefully those helicopters are, you know, nasa helicopters to record for prosperity and maybe final approach pictures down the runway as lizzie said. the runway here is three miles long, you know, the shuttle runway. they need all of that landing a shuttle. and they certainly needed most of it to take off in that 747 this morning. with the shuttle on its back. they need that long runway, that's for sure but i think it's some of those are news outlet helicopters up there, as well. there were a few flying around here when it -- when "discovery"

took off. >> and we appreciate the news helicopters because they're providing some beautiful pictures for us. you know, the shuttle is so heavy, john zarrella, how fast can the boeing fly with the shut l on the back? >> it is about 300 miles per hour anyway. maybe more than that. it took long -- you know, the flight time to washington, d.c. is probably two hours and, you know, 15 minutes or so. and it took a lot longer with the shuttle on its back so, you know, it's probably flying 350, maybe 400 miles per hour. heading up the east coast. enough to get the lift and get up there but they have to be very, very careful, you know, with their speed and with their altitude and it's a real, real -- you know, juggling act to get it all just right and as we pointed out, a veteran crew specially trained to do this. you had great shots just there. looks like pretty much coming in to final approach now.

as nasa continues to milk this for us, carol. >> well, i think nasa just cleared a low approach an i'm no pilot but it seems to me like four miles out or something like that. >> yeah. i missed that, as well. i wasn't clear on what they said. how far out. i see and looking at that, the landing gear on the 747 are still -- they're not down. i don't believe. are they? are they down yet? >> they're not. they're not. >> i don't think they are which is -- they're not. that's an indication that maybe they're going to do another fly by before they land. because they're awful low to the ground now, aren't they? >> i would think so. looks that way to me. hard to tell from this picture. the perspective is skewed looking at a television monitor. lizzie, what it's it look to you? >> here we have it. it's behind me, carol. there it goes.

>> yep. they did another fly by. >> they're doing another fly by. that gear is up. >> hey, john. they're doing another fly by. >> yeah. i thought that's what it looked like. that low to the ground. you know? it sure looked like another fly by. so there you go. you know? once more around i guess for, you know, for anybody who missed it the first couple of times. we'll fly around one more time before they land and, you know, here it is ten minutes to the top of the hour and, you know, colliely they had said they wanted to be on the ground by 10:30 because of the air traffic that picks up around washington, washington metropolitan area but i guess they have clearances to do this and, you know, for the people in washington, if you didn't see it, get outside because, you know, if you have a shot at this, what a spectacular

opportunity and nasa's given you one more opportunity as it banks to the left there and prepares to circle back around and i would think that the next time around, carol, should be the charm and they'll probably go ahead and set down on that next pass around. >> it is an incredible sight. we are going to take another break. when we come back, we'll see if it landed.

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welcome back. welcome to the viewers around the world. we are watching space shuttle "discovery." took off from florida earlier this morning. we expect it to land at dulles international airport near washington, d.c. any time now and then take the space shuttle

off the back of the 747 and will go to the smithsonian institution and become a museum piece. lizzie o'leary is at dulles for a couple of hours now and bring us up to speed, lizzie. >> well, carol, we just got maybe a bonus fly-by if you want to call it that. even folks at the museum where "discove "discovery" will eventually rest, a part of the smithsonian institution. this is where you have a lot of aircraft out here, it's an extension of the air and space museum. the folks were surprised, too. we looked and everybody kind of went, hey, the landing gear's up. that, of course, was just so they were going to do another fly-by. they were too high for a landing there. we've been listening in to the air traffic control. we heard them give the instructions to climb to about 1,500 feet so you do see that 747 banking around. it's doing a big slow left turn and will probably come back

around to where i am. it is just flying over part of virginia getting i guess one last ride before landing at dulles. >> tell us about the flight path through the city of washington, d.c. >> well, this is interesting. nasa initially wouldn't give us the exact flight path, just said it would fly over a series of spots downtown. gave a few hints on good viewing locations and much of the middle of washington, d.c. is that wide open green space, the national mall, a great big lawn. you have the monuments there. the washington monument. the lincoln memorial. the jefferson and the shuttle and the 747 it's flying on flew over all of those. you heard barbara starr talk about seeing it at the pentagon. it is a rare thing to have a plane in the washington air space overall. certainly, the legacy of 9/11 is a very tightly controlled air space and then one this big with the shuttle on top of it and to have it be a benign and happy

thing is doubly rare in d.c. >> john zarrella, are you with me? >> yep. sure am. i'm with you. i think as we've been pointing out all morning, carol, this whole thing is pretty fluid. they left early from the kennedy space center. did a fly-by, down the beach and back over launch pad 39a and over the vehicle assembly building and kind of knew they were a little fluid and, you know, it's like somebody said to me, well, the commander and this crew up there, you know, they have got this thing. it's just like, you know, he'll bring it in when he's ready. they're flying. what will you do, fire him? he is in control and so, you know, a lot of people had said, you know, that this was kind of expected that they would do some things differently, there will be a little surprise here and there. as much as they could do within the limits and the confines of

the air space. certainly, in and around washington, d.c. but without question everybody got, you know, another bonus look at that fly-by. i have to tell you, carol, from seeing that this morning, i know what lizzie and the people watched. that is sensational without question. to see that thing literally a couple hundred feet off the deck as it flew by us on the back of that 747. just, just a phenomenal, phenomenal sight. >> and you know, again, we're all sitting here going this is spectacular. for the astronauts on "discovery" and other shuttle missions it has to be an emotional day. lizzie, you have an astronaut with you? >> i do. i'm joined by bill reedy who flew on "discovery" and commanded "atlantis." you joined at a sad year for the space flight program. you joined in 1986. what was it like basically being a part of bringing shuttle

flight back? >> well, 1986 as you know was a tough year after the "challenger" accident and we immediately started going about redesigning the major shuttle systems and, of course, that led to "discovery's" flight a couple of years later, sts-26. >> one of the things that joe allen was talking about is how quiet it is inside a shuttle. you have had an experience not many people had. describe being inside "discovery" for us. >> my colleague dr. joe i think kind of understates it. getting to state can be very, very, very noisy as you can imagine. the solid rocket launchers. you can't talk in a normal tone of voice. after that, you're 40 miles up. you're above most of the atmosphere and the next six and a half minutes is like a glide. you raise the gliders.

talk in this tone of voice in the cockpit and then from 3gs and this gorilla on top of your chest just struggling to even get a breath to zero g and everybody floats. the checklist on the tether. the arms float. and it is quiet. >> what would someone who has never been in space not know? what's the thing that surprises people the most? >> well, i guess for first-time pilots, when the solid rocket motors come off, there's a huge explosion and fireball in front of your face as the mottoers kick away from the space shuttle and there's a huge structural bang in the vehicle and they never prepare you for that in the simulator. that's the new guy thing. >> the new guy thing, let's contrast that with what i guess we could call the old guy thing and watching something you have flown in twice, come in for the final flight. do you talk to your fellow astronauts and what's that