THE HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT BLOG: From the Space Shuttle to Beyond

NASA / Jim Grossmann

Space Shuttle Atlantis... That's the name of the new 90,000-square-foot exhibit that will open at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on June 29. The last orbiter to reach her retirement home late last year is still under wraps as final construction is done on the $100 million facility that will house the spacecraft. While Atlantis was the last shuttle to be transported to a museum, two of her sister ships have yet to be put in their final displays. New York City officials are still planning to house the prototype Enterprise (which presumably was repaired following damage she sustained from Superstorm Sandy last fall) in a permanent facility adjacent to the USS Intrepid on the Hudson River, and Endeavour is years away from being placed in a vertical position (to simulate a launch configuration) inside the yet-to-be-built Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Los Angeles. Although the Space Shuttle Program has officially been retired for almost two years now, their new missions to inspire the public who visit the iconic craft in person are still works in progress.


NASA / Jim Grossmann


NASA / Jim Grossmann