Space Shuttle Discovery Begins Flight To Florida

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The space shuttle Discovery is on a cross-country flight to Florida after landing from space earlier this month in Southern California.

The Discovery departed from Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles at about 6:20 a.m. Sunday. It is being ferried atop a modified 747 aircraft, known as a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

NASA says the shuttle should reach Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday. Shuttle managers plan to make at least one fueling stop at Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas, Sunday afternoon, as well as an overnight stop at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La.

The Discovery landed at Edwards on Sept. 11 after completing a two-week, 5.7-million mile mission to the international space station.