Shuttle Atlantis' new home topped off


The massive new building that has sprouted up on the Kennedy Space Center landscape to display the space shuttle Atlantis as a national treasure was "topped off" in ceremony Wednesday. A beam weighing nearly 2,000 pounds was hoisted 116 feet off the ground to the highest point in the framework for the $100 million attraction at the privately-run KSC Visitor Complex.

See our coverage from Atlantis' final mission.

Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now


Atlantis will be housed in this new 65,000-square-foot, 6-story-tall facility


Atlantis arrives Nov. 2 and the attraction opens to the public next July


Workers await Wednesday's beam ceremony


The beam was fitted with a traditional tree and American flag


KSC Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana signs the beam


The crane operator stands by


The Vistor Complex is privately run


Construction of Atlantis' new home began in January


More than 60 exhibits will be part of the Atlantis facility


KSC Director Bob Cabana gives a brief speech to workers and officials


The crane begins hoisting the beam


The beam weighs nearly 2,000 pounds


The beam rises towards it position 116 feet high


This open portion of the building is how Atlantis will enter


Atlantis' nose will point to the right-hand side of this picture


This cutout is where a full-scale mockup of Hubble will go


A wider view of the Hubble Space Telescope area

Expedition 29 Patch
Space models