Jan. 16, 2016

– "Inspiration," a full-scale space shuttle model that for two decades stood along the state road leading into NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, rolled, and then floated away on Saturday (Jan. 16), beginning its journey towards becoming a traveling exhibit and marketing showpiece.

The 122-foot-long mockup, which at one time housed a theater and simulator, left its mount outside the former Space Camp Florida and U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame facility in Titusville just after 9:30 a.m. EST. Riding on a multi-wheeled transporter to a barge about a half mile away on the shore of the Indian River, the "Inspiration" left on a four hour trip across the water to a Beyel Brothers Crane and Rigging's work yard on Merritt Island, where it will spend upwards of a year being repaired and upgraded for its new mission.

Acquired by LVX System, a company working with NASA to develop new means of visual light-based communications, the "Inspiration" will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art immersive theater experience and a detailed crew cabin before it leaves on a barge for America's waterways, bringing the space shuttle to new audiences.