Space Shuttles to Retire in Washington, California, Florida and New York

Four iconic states and cities in the US will become this year the resting places for the four space shuttles that have made space history over the past three decades. Today NASA announced the museums that would receive the space shuttles, who were the first reusable vehicles mankind ventured into space in, time and time again.

The space shuttle that started it all, even if it hasn't actually been flown into space, Enterprise, will be on display starting later this year at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan, New York.

The Discovery, the oldest operational space shuttle and the first in history to be retired, will be taken in by the famous Smithsonian, to be displayed at its National Air and Space Museum near the Dulles International Airport, in Washington, DC.

Endeavor, the next in line to be retired, will be housed by the California Science Center in Los Angeles, while the last shuttle, the Atlantis, will be put on display at NASA's spaceport's official visitor complex.

"We want to thank all of the locations that expressed an interest in one of these national treasures," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "This was a very difficult decision, but one that was made with the American public in mind. In the end, these choices provide the greatest number of people with the best opportunity to share in the history and accomplishments of NASA's remarkable space shuttle program."

"These facilities we've chosen have a noteworthy legacy of preserving space artifacts and providing outstanding access to U.S. and international visitors."