Going Nose-to-Nose with Space Shuttle Discovery and Astronauts

Most days you will find us at our desks at Discovery Headquarters. But last Thursday my co-author and fellow Curiosity.com producer Jen Hughes and I had the chance to go out in the field to see history being made at the "Welcome Discovery" event at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA! After the Discovery shuttle's jaw-dropping flyover above the D.C. area on Tuesday (strapped on the back of a 747 no less!), we were beyond excited to get up close with the shuttle and astronauts who flew in it.

By way of introduction, we are part of Discovery's Curiosity.com team, where we interview leading experts from various disciplines to answer life's biggest questions such as "Are we alone in the universe?" Among our experts are several NASA astronauts and Smithsonian folks, including two of the event's keynote speakers: Wayne Clough (Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution) and Charles Bolden (NASA Administrator and former Discovery commander). Needless to say, seeing the Discovery shuttle pass-off from NASA to the Smithsonian was nothing short of exhilarating, particularly with our experts playing such a significant role. Not to mention, we're Discovery...the shuttle is Discovery ...it's like it was meant to be.