steven lindsey is one of the 252 passengers discovery carried. americans will have to hitch rides on russian spacecraft. >> i hoped we would have a re'sment by now. >> reporter: at least discovery is going out in style, flying above crowds just as awestruck today as they were during any lunch over the last 30 years. discovery is one of four shuttles that will be on public display. atlantis is staying in flament endeavour is going to l.a. and endeavor, the prototype is coming here. >> you want to talk about picture perfect, you're looking at it, pork and beans, maybe flip that t bone on the grill, beautiful night. meteorologist wyatt everhart with the very quiet storm center. your first forecast. >> it is quiet. we felt the change in temperature. i'd much rather be out there watching baseball when it's 90 not. a few clouds from the west kind of beginning to break apart. take a look at the temperatures. 66 in hagerstown now. that's quite a bit cooler. 82 in salisbury. most of the central part of the state has fallen in the mid-70s. this represents

mall, the shuttle carrier plane turned down at dulles international airport, former astronaut steven lindseyhe commander of the last discovery crew said, "we need to preserve our history for future generations and send these off to museums to remember what we did, all the lessons learned from the shuttle we're using in the design of our space aircraft. we're updating the technologies but the basic principles are the same, everybody program bills on the previous building" is the mothballing of discovery and america's space exploration symbolic of america's decline? >> no! we're not declining, and this was a moment of history that people wanted to watch -- [overlapping speakers] momma whale with the baby on top. adorable. >> you know what your leaders, president obama did that the space? he killed it! >> he trimmed it back and congress dealt the last blow because of budget cutbacks. we can't afford to send men to mars right now. but i think the r&d continues, and this president sees the possibility maybe we can elect newt gingrich, who wants to establish a colony on mars or the moon or whereve