NASA to decide shuttle display locations

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- NASA officials are gravitating toward a decision on where several retired space shuttles will be displayed for future generations.

At least 20 sites across the country are vying for one of the shuttles, including the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force outside of Dayton, Ohio, and the Kennedy Space Center in Mims, Fla.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is expected to announce Tuesday the final resting places for Discovery, Endeavor, Atlantis and other equipment once officially retired.

Since Atlantis has flown more classified missions, space aficionados believe it is a leading candidate for a military-based museum, while Endeavor might be a better bet to land on Florida's "Space Coast."

Robert Pearlman, editor of collectSpace.com, told Florida Today Saturday the KSC visitors' complex is a "clear favorite" to land one of the shuttles.

At least 20 sites in total are jockeying for the chance to display pieces of the former space program's fleet.