The space shuttle Discovery was riding piggyback on a specially modified 747 from California to Florida when it made a stop in Amarillo to refuel the 747.

Link to complete photo album - Space Shuttle Discovery 2009 09/20

The visit of a space shuttle on its way back to Florida from a landing in California was easier to photograph than the last visit. I used Twitter to keep updated with the flight schedule and discover links to a NASA web page where the latest progress was posted. Real time flight information was also available on the FlightAware.com web site. The only information I didn't have was the direction in which the 747 would make an approach for a landing at Rick Husband International Airport.

The 747 approached the airport from the northeast then taxied to a stop on the taxiway at the southern end of the runway for refueling.

Here is the information posted on the NASA web site as the shuttle left Edwards Air Force Base, lands in Amarillo, then leaves for Fort Worth to refuel again.

Discovery's Ferry Flight Begins

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:26:49 AM CDT

Shuttle Discovery's 2,500 mile ferry flight back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center is under way.
The modified 747 carrying Discovery took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California at 9:20 a.m. EDT. Discovery's "pathfinder" support aircraft, a NASA C-9 plane, departed about 9:10 a.m. The aircraft are heading to Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas for a refueling stop.

Discovery's Ferry Flight Arrives in Amarillo, Texas

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:19:30 AM CDT

Shuttle Discovery's ferry flight now is at Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas for refueling. The modified 747, known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, carrying Discovery arrived at 12:08 p.m. EDT. This is the first stop on the cross-country trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California at 9:20 a.m. Discovery's "pathfinder" support aircraft, a NASA C-9 plane, departed about 9:10 a.m. Teams will evaluate the weather again while the aircraft are refueling to determine the next stop in the 2,500 mile trek.

Discovery's Ferry Flight Departs Amarillo, Texas for Ft. Worth

Shuttle Discovery atop its 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft again is in the air on its way to its next refueling stop, Ft. Worth Naval Air Station, Texas.
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft took off from Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas at about 2:20 p.m. EDT to begin the second leg of its cross-country trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After landing in Ft. Worth in about an hour, the teams will assess the weather and determine whether they can still get to Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana this afternoon where they plan to stay overnight. Managers plan to have Discovery back at Kennedy on Monday.

Hundreds of spectators from Amarillo and Canyon were lined up on both sides of the runway to view Discovery first hand.

I decided to move to the other side of the runway while the 747 was being refueled so I would be in a better position for takeoff.

Click on any of the larger photos to view the whole album of photos for this rare event in Amarillo.

The pair of air and space craft take off again, bound for another refueling stop in Fort Worth.

The refueling stop took about two hours in Amarillo, Texas on Sunday September 20, 2009.

Link to complete photo album - Space Shuttle Discovery 2009 09/20