Opening June 29, 2013, at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Shuttle Atlantis is the new $100 million home of the priceless, historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program. The 90,000 square-foot Atlantis attraction is the marquee element of the Visitor Complex’s 10-year master plan.
From only a few feet away, you will be awed and inspired with an up-close, 360-degree view of Atlantis - the wear and tear of its 33 missions apparent on its protective external tiles. You’ll be able to view this national treasure from several different levels.
Live Web Cam
By using the camera below, you can follow along with our construction progress.
There is a flurry of work inside and outside Space Shuttle Atlantis. Inside, 16,000 square feet of protective plastic wrap was removed in April. The payload bay doors are being carefully opened in May and then a high-fidelity Canadarm will be installed.
Outside, the twin solid rocket boosters, full-scale models, have been completed, reaching 149-feet high. The orange external tank is now being constructed and when complete, will change the skyline of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, reaching 184-feet high.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis features state-of-the-art multimedia presentations and more than 60 interactive exhibits and high-tech simulators that will bring to life the complex systems and components behind this incredible feat of engineering. One of the most complicated and sophisticated pieces of equipment ever built, the shuttle was a vehicle that launched like a rocket, flew in orbit like a spacecraft and landed on a runway like a glider.
The immersive experience also shines a spotlight on the astounding achievements made over the course of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program, most notably, the building of the International Space Station and the launch and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Also celebrated are the thousands of people who took part in creating and maintaining NASA’s five space-flown shuttles – Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour – and how the shuttle program has paved the way for NASA’s next generation of manned spaceflight programs.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction is designed by PGAV Destinations, architects headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., and is being built by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company in Orlando, Fl.