Space Shuttle Discovery Thrills DC: Time stood still for a moment in the nation's capital this morning, as the space shuttle Discovery circled the District on the back of a Boeing 747 during its final flight. Commuters climbed from their vehicles and pedestrians clogged bridges and rooftops for a glimpse of the shuttle that ferried astronauts into space for almost 30 years. The shuttle remains both a symbol of the nation's potential for scientific innovation and a reminder of the cost, as it was Discovery that led NASA back into space after the Challenger and Columbia disasters. CQ's Anne Kim reports the shuttle touched down at Dulles International Airport and will be permanently housed at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center nearby. The shuttle program ended operations last year, and Discovery is one of several retired shuttle orbiters that will be on permanent display in locations nationwide. The Enterprise will go to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. The California Science Center in Los Angeles will get the shuttle Endeavor, and Atlantis will be housed at the Kennedy Space Center.

Kim also brings us word that the Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee approved 17-1 a draft fiscal 2013 spending bill for the Justice and Commerce Departments and science agencies on Tuesday. Under the bill, NASA would be provided with $19.4 billion, which is $1.6 billion more than fiscal 2012. The bill includes a provision that would transfer management and acquisition of NOAA satellites to NASA. NOAA would continue to operate the satellites.

Report: Google Targeted in FTC Privacy Probe: The San Jose Mercury news is reporting that Google is facing a significant fine in the next 30 days for allegedly bypassing the default privacy settings of Apple's Safari browser for Google users. The investigation is expected to result in a fine larger than the $25,000 penalty levied against the search giant by the Federal Communications Commission for impeding the agency's investigation into the Street View privacy breach. The FTC's probe is reportedly focused on whether Google violated the terms of the settlement agreement it signed last year after the failed rollout of the Buzz social network in 2010. Under the terms of the settlement, Google could face fines of $16,000 per incident, per day. House Intel Chairman Touts Progress on CISPA: House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said lawmakers have made "huge progress" addressing concerns from privacy advocates about their cybersecurity information sharing bill (HR 3523) during a speech on Tuesday. CQ's Tim Starks reports on some of the changes, which are designed to tighten the bill's definitions and limit how information shared with the government can be used. The legislation is one of several cybersecurity bills expected to reach the House floor next week. FCC Staff Announcements: FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announced Tuesday that Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett, Rear Admiral USNR (Retired), will leave his position at the end of the month to return to his role as senior vice president of the science and technology think tank the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Current deputy chief David Furth will serve as acting bureau chief. Barnett joined the FCC as Public Safety bureau chief in July 2009, where he has played a leading role in the development of the public safety broadband network and helped conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) last November.

Genachowski also named Gary Epstein senior adviser to the chairman and co-lead of the Commission's Incentive Auction Task Force. He will join Ruth Milkman in managing the task force and the FCC's implementation of spectrum auctions. He most recently served as managing director and general counsel for the Aspen Institute project on cloud computing and the free flow of information. He has previously served in a variety of roles at the FCC, including as head of the Digital Television (DTV) transition efforts under acting chairman Michael Copps.