Thousands of residents and visitors in D.C. streamed onto the National Mall, Hains Point, the Georgetown waterfront and just about any place with an open view of the sky this morning to see Space Shuttle Discovery make one last trip before it reaches its final resting place at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Dulles.

Though the shuttle’s trip was announced last year, it surprised just about everyone by arriving in the region 30 minutes ahead of schedule. After flying over Dulles first, it was first sighted over D.C. at 9:45, after which it circled the city.

The shuttle will be formally presented at the Udvar-Hazy on Thursday.