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Space Shuttle Atlantis Moves to VAB Again, but Not to Prep for Takeoff  June 27, 2012 | WMFE - The space shuttle Atlantis will move to Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building Friday morning...but not for the same reason it did while NASA's shuttle program was still up and running. The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, was one of the shuttle's last stops before it was rolled out onto the launch pad to blast off into space. But with space shuttle launches now a thing of the past, Atlantis is being moved from its processing hangar to the VAB temporarily to make room for the shuttle Endeavour. That’s because Endeavour is next on the shuttle roster to retire into museum life, and the processing hangar is where the transition takes place from spacecraft to exhibit. Endeavour is scheduled to go on display at the California Science Center this fall. Atlantis isn’t expected to make its museum debut at Kennedy Space Center’s own Visitor Complex until next year. The space shuttle Discovery is already at its new home – the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. |
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