Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is adding another out of this world exhibit to its already booming collection of intergalactic fun. The complex announced in February that they are constructing a 90,000-square-foot, $100 million home for Space Shuttle Atlantis!

The exhibit will not only showcase Atlantis as if it were flying in space (the shuttle will be raised 30-feet off the ground and rotated 43 degrees) but it will also tell the story of the entire shuttle program, including the thousands of engineers who helped develop the International Space Station and the launch and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope and how it has paved the way for today’s space programs and the future of space exploration.

“We are so proud to partner with NASA to build the only place in the world to experience the remarkable voyage of Atlantis – one of the most storied spacecrafts in the U.S. space program. Without question, Kennedy Space Center is the best place to experience, learn about and be inspired by space exploration – past, present and future. With the addition of Space Shuttle Atlantis to the world-class Visitor Complex, visitors can now experience a space shuttle in “flight” – which is truly an engineering marvel,” said Rick Abramson, former president and chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
 
Guests will get to experience the shuttle’s systems, components and capabilities like never before via more than 60 interactive exhibits and simulations.

Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex based the exhibit’s new name and logo on the powerful emotion Space Shuttle Atlantis evoked from visitors.

“We know that this majestic beauty, which safely ferried men and women to space and back on 33 successful missions, is the real reason that our guests will travel thousands of miles, across oceans and across continents to visit Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to see her in all her glory. There are no words to accurately describe the emotions and insights guests will gain when this attraction opens this summer, for there has truly never been anything like it before. Therefore, we decided to be true to the heart and soul of the exhibit and name it simply and reverently, Space Shuttle Atlantis,” said Moore.

Construction of Space Shuttle Atlantis started last month with the installation of a full-scale external tank and two solid rocket boosters at its entrance. This massive entryway should be completed in June. Meanwhile, construction continues inside the exhibit. Next month, the shuttle Atlantis will be unwrapped from the shrink wrap it currently rests in and the payload bay doors will be opened with a full-scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Stay tuned for more details on Space Shuttle Atlantis at KSC. In the meantime you can explore Kenned Space Center Visitor Complex and its current exhibits including Angry Birds Space Encounter with discounted tickets right here on Best of Orlando.

Orlando, FL – 04/03/13