Accompanied by afleet of astronauts spanning NASA's entire existence, Atlantis made a slow,solemn journey to retirement Friday, the last space shuttle to orbit the worldand the last to leave NASA's nest.
Atlantis reached its new home at theKennedy Space Center's main tourist stop close to sundown, after a one-way roadtrip that spanned nearly 12 hours.
A couple dozen astronauts spanning NASA'sMercury, Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs — moonwalkers included —welcomed Atlantis to its new $100 million exhibit, still under construction.The hardier ones walked alongside the spaceship for the home stretch.
Among the big astronaut names: Mercury'sScott Carpenter, Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin and Eileen Collins, the first femaleshuttle commander.
It was a day full of fanfare and farewells.
Atlantis began the 10-mile (16-kilometer)trek just before dawn, emerging from the massive Vehicle Assembly Building andriding atop a 76-wheeled platform.
About 200 workers gathered in the earlymorning chill to see the spaceship out in the open for the final time. Theywere joined by the four astronauts who closed out the shuttle program aboardAtlantis more than a year ago.
"My opinion is it looks bettervertically," said Christopher Ferguson, the commander of Atlantis' finalflight.
"It's a short trip. It's taking aday," he added. "It traveled a lot faster in its former life. Butthat's OK. ... it's got a new role."
Portions of Atlantis' final launchcountdown boomed over loudspeakers before the shuttle hit the road. Employeesgathered in front of a long white banner that read, "We MadeHistory," and below that the single word "Atlantis." Theyfollowed the spaceship for a block or two, then scattered as the shuttletransporter revved up to its maximum 2 mph. The convoy included a dozen trucksand vans, their lights blinking.
The fact that several hundred shuttleworkers are about to lose their jobs, now that Atlantis is being turned over tothe visitor complex, dampened the mood. Thousands already have been laid off.
"The untold story of the last coupleyears, the last missions that we flew, is the work force. I mean, thecontractors knew that their numbers were going to go down ... and yet they keptdoing their jobs," said NASA's Angie Brewer, who was once in charge ofgetting Atlantis ready for flight.
Some were too upset to even show up.Friday's event marked the true end to the 30-year shuttle program.
Seeing so many members of the shuttle team"helps soften the hard edge of seeing Atlantis go off to a museum,"said astronaut Rex Walheim, part of the ship's final crew.
Atlantis made its way down broad industrialavenues, most of them off-limits to the public. So the trek did not replicatethe narrow, stop-and-go turns Endeavour encountered last month while navigatingdowntown Los Angeles.
The mastermind behind Atlantis' slow marchthrough Kennedy was sweating bullets nonetheless.
"It's only a priceless artifactdriving 9.8 miles (15.8 kilometers) and it weighs 164,000 pounds (74,390kilograms)," said Tim Macy, director of project development andconstruction for Kennedy's visitor complex operator, the company DelawareNorth.
"Other than that, no pressure atall," Macy said, laughing. "Only the eyes of the country and theworld and everybody at NASA is watching us."
The relocation of Atlantis was plotted outfor months, he noted last week, and experienced shuttle workers took part.
The roundabout loop took Atlantis pastKennedy's headquarters building for a midmorning ceremony that drew severalthousand past and present employees, and their guests, as well as a few dozenastronauts. A high school color guard and band led the way.
The mood was more upbeat than when the tripbegan four hours earlier and resembled a funeral procession. NASA officialswent out of their way to emphasize the space agency's future.
"It's an incredibly historicday," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr., a former skipper ofAtlantis. "But I don't preside over an agency that's in the historybusiness. ... We're in the business of creating the future."
Bolden proudly cited NASA's new targetdestinations for astronauts — an asteroid and Mars — and he hailed thesuccessful start to commercial supply missions to the International SpaceStation.
The next stop for Atlantis, meanwhile, wasa still-under-design industrial park that offered a few hours of public viewingin the afternoon. Tourist tickets ran as high as $90 apiece for a chance to seethe spaceship up close.
Crews removed 120 light poles, 23 trafficsignals and 56 traffic signs in order for Atlantis to squeeze by. Onehigh-voltage power line also had to come down. Staff trimmed back some scrubpines, but there was none of the widespread tree-axing that occurred in LosAngeles.
Atlantis had to traverse just onenoticeable incline, a highway ramp. The rest of the course is sea-level flat.
Tourists jammed the public portion ofAtlantis' route. Patricia LeBlanc, visiting from Orlando with her daughter,said she misses the shuttle launches. Thirteen-year-old Ashley Gest, waiting inline for astronaut autographs with her Ormond Beach family, was excited to seeAtlantis but expressed sadness, too.
The grand entrance into Atlantis' new homewent just as smoothly Friday evening and attracted a huge crowd. One completewall of the exhibit hall was kept off, carport-style, so the shuttle could rollright in. Construction will begin on the missing wall early next week.
Once safely inside, Atlantis will beplastic-wrapped for protection until the building is completed. The grandopening is set for July 2013. Delaware North is footing the entire $100 millionexhibit cost.
Discovery, the oldest and most-traveledspace shuttle, was the first to leave Kennedy, zooming off to the Smithsonianin northern Virginia in April atop a modified jumbo jet. The shuttle prototypeEnterprise went from the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museumin New York City; NASA confirmed Friday that Enterprise suffered minor damageto its vertical tail due to Superstorm Sandy earlier this week.
Endeavour, the baby of the fleet, headedwest in September.
And now, Atlantis.
"Although it's the end of Atlantisflying in space, it's not the end. It's not the end for KSC," stressedKennedy Space Center director Robert Cabana, a former astronaut. "And it'snot the end for Atlantis because Atlantis now takes on a mission of inspirationto future generations."