(photo by Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images, originally published at Boston.com)

If you didn’t know, Space Shuttle Discovery just returned to Earth from its final journey to space. In tribute, the folks at Boston.com, known not only for their news and journalism but for their amazing photographs in their The Big Picture series of articles.

In this week’s, we take a beautiful look at Discovery on her final voyage, from rolling up to the launch pad (shown above – the first photo in the series) all the way to its final approach and graceful return to earth. Click through to see all of the beautiful photos.

[ Boston.com – The Big Picture :: For Discovery, A Farewell Spin ]