Post Shuttle Era Beginning

NASA is beginning in earnest the process of finding museum homes for its three remaining space shuttle orbiters. The price will be $28.8 million. That's down from the original $42 million, but that higher figure included "safeing" the vehicles. NASA will now prepare the orbiters to be safely displayed itself, and pay for the procedure with its own funds.

The transaction proposal calls for the orbiters to be delivered to their new homes next year, but that might have to be delayed. If NASA cannot fly the remaining five shuttle missions this year, Congress and President Obama seem willing to extend the program into 2011.