Space Shuttle Atlantis with missing OMS Pods and engines in the VAB at Kennedy Space Center.
A Payload Bay view from the Mid-deck hatch window of Atlantis .  The Airlock had already been removed.
Looking from the Commander's seat at Bill Powers fine-tuning the interior lighting of Space Shuttle Endeavour during one of the final times that the orbiter was powered up.
The SCA 747 with Space Shuttle Discovery landing at Dulles International Airport. Read more about the process of transferring Discovery to the Smithsonian on my National Geographic NewsWatch blog .
Discovery perched on the SCA at Dulles International Airport.
Discovery goes nose-to-nose with Enterprise , the Space Shuttle atmospheric test orbiter that never went to space.  Discovery replaced Enterprise on Smithsonian display.
The NASA "Meatball" logo hand painted on the starboard side of Discovery near the aft entrance opening.
Silica tiles, thermal blanket and painted instructions on the exterior starboard side of Discovery 's Crew Module.
Looking up into Endeavour 's nose landing gear while parked in the VAB at Kennedy Space Center.
The aft-end of Atlantis where the three Main Engines attach.
The copper nozzle inside of an engine at the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility (SSMEPF) at Kennedy Space Center.
Burn scarring to the silica tiles on the nose of Atlantis resulting from her thirty-three missions to space and back.
The Flight Deck of Atlantis .
The powered-up central console and glass cockpit of Endeavour 's Flight Deck.
Overhead controls in Endeavour 's powered-up Flight Deck.
Jay Beason communicates over the radio from Endeavour 's Flight Deck to employees in the Firing Room that help control the powered-up orbiter.
Endeavour 's Ku-band antenna deployed from the Payload Bay.
Endeavour 's overland journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center led through neighborhoods, over the 405 freeway and occasionally past liquor stores, adult video stores, and fast food chains like these in Inglew
Endeavour waiting to cross the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.
Crowds surround Endeavour making the turn from Crenshaw Boulevard to Martin Luther King Boulevard in Los Angeles.
A detail of one of Discovery 's main landing gear tires used during her final landing.
The hatch that led from Endeavour 's Airlock to the International Space Station when the orbiter was docked there during its construction.
The reinforced carbon carbon leading edge of Atlantis ' starboard wing.
Endeavour 's starboard wingtip where the horizontal flight surface meets the aileron.
Replacing one of the rear Flight Deck windows from Discovery that was impacted by a micro-meteor on its final mission.
Travis Thompson sharing stories from a passageway between the Mid-deck and Flight Deck of Atlantis .
Discovery 's Mid-deck in final preparations for its Smithsonian display.
The starboard side of Discovery 's Mid-deck where astronauts would sleep against the wall during missions.
Atlantis made one final journey overland from the VAB to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for her permanent display. Learn more about this day-long process on my National Geographic blog .
Atlantis followed by former Space Shuttle Program employees while rolling away from the VAB for her final time.
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