Shuttle Atlantis also on the road, to Kennedy visitor center
The space shuttle Atlantis began its last voyage Friday morning, traveling 10 miles from Cape Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the Visitor Complex at the cape. Atlantis is the third and final active shuttle to be sent to a museum, and its transfer formally ends NASA’s shuttle program.
Once it arrives at the visitor center, Atlantis will be suspended upside down with its cargo bay doors open as though it were floating in space.
The exhibit of Endeavour, which captivated Los Angeles during its move from LAX to the Discovery Science Center, officially opened Tuesday. That shuttle is currently sitting on its wheels but will eventually be raised into launch position along with two booster rockets.
The shuttle Enterprise, which is displayed on the deck of the aircraft carrier Intrepid at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, but officials have made no comments about the extent of the damage. Enterprise is a mock-up that never made it to space.
The shuttle Discovery is at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington’s Dulles International Airport.
