The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is preparing to welcome the space shuttle Discovery into its collection.

Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough says the shuttle will be flown to Washington Dulles International Airport on the back of a Boeing 747 in April.

A flyover is planned above the nation's capital before Discovery makes its final home at the museum's massive hangar in northern Virginia.

Clough said Monday the flyover is planned for April 17. A formal welcome ceremony is planned for April 19 at the museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Shuttle Endeavour will travel to the California Science Center in Los Angeles in the second half of the year.