Posted: Sat, Nov 3, 2012, 3:30 PM ET (1930 GMT)
NASA transferred the space shuttle Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in a ceremony Friday, an event effectively marked the end of the shuttle retirement process. Atlantis was towed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC to the center in a day-long procession that included a ceremony where NASA formally transferred the title of the orbiter to the company that operates the center. The center is in the process of constructing a building within which to display the orbiter; that building will open next July. Atlantis was the last of NASA's four orbiters to be given to the museums that will host them in retirement. the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum obtained Discovery in April, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum received Enterprise in June, and last month the California Science Center in Los Angeles received Endeavour.
