Space Shuttle Atlantis opens at Kennedy Space Center

Florida’s newest attraction, Space Shuttle Atlantis, opened this weekend at the Kennedy Space Center.

The $100 million, 90,000-square-foot attraction contains four multimedia productions and more than 60 interactive exhibits that let visitors "be the astronaut" in the U.S. shuttle program.

Guests can come nose-to-nose with an actual space shuttle orbiter that is covered with scars, scorch marks, and space dust from its 33 flights into heavens.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is the heart of a 10-year master plan for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, bringing top-of-the-line audio/visual and show systems, theme park technology, rare NASA images and footage, and reality-based astronaut training simulations to the home of human spaceflight.

All 135 U.S. space shuttle missions from 1981 to 2011 were launched here.

"There is nowhere else on Earth like Space Shuttle Atlantis," said Kennedy Space Center COO Bill Moore. "This completely immersive experience is about much more than seeing Atlantis close up. With hi-fi replicas, simulators and interactive activities touching on all aspects of the shuttle program and its accomplishments, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station, it’s the closest guests can get to living and working in space – short of applying to the astronaut corps."

The experience starts at the entrance, where guests are greeted by a 184-foot-tall replica of the space shuttle’s external tank and two solid rocket boosters, giving a sense of the awesome power needed to launch the shuttle into orbit.

The building itself features two sweeping "wings" representing the space shuttle’s launch and return.

The outer layer of the building, cloaked in iridescent hues of orange and gold, represents the fiery glow of re-entry.

The taller, internal wing of the building is covered in a shimmering gray tile pattern representing the tiled underside of the orbiter.

There’s a replica of the Hubble Space Telescope, 43 feet long and 14 feet in diameter, with its solar panels fully deployed, and a 40-seat theater showing highlights of the Hubble program and stunning images of deep space.

The, at the International Space Station Gallery, guests can climb aboard a high-fidelity replica of ISS modules and experience the sensation of floating in space.

Freestanding pods recreate components of the station, including upside-down astronaut sleeping quarters and the space potty.

At the Shuttle Launch, guests can "get vertical" and strap in to experience the sights, sounds and sensations of a space shuttle launch. Veteran NASA astronauts who helped develop the attraction call it the next best thing to an actual space shuttle launch.

Kids can can practice landing the orbiter, docking to the ISS, and manipulating the robotic Canadarm on 21 consoles modeled after actual NASA training simulators.

In honor of the Year of Atlantis, Kennedy Space Center annual passes are on sale for a limited time at a discounted rate of $55 for adults and $45 for children ages 3-11 (an $8 savings) when purchased online or by phone only. For more information visit http://www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.