Plastic protects the nose of space shuttle Atlantis its reaction control system in Florida.

Plastic protects the nose of space shuttle Atlantis where its forward reaction control system (FRCS) once resided during its move from Orbiter Processing Facility-2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Atlantis will be stored temporarily in the VAB while transition and retirement processing resumes on shuttle Endeavour in the processing hangar. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. A groundbreaking was held Jan. 18 for Atlantis' future home -- a 65,000-square-foot exhibit in Shuttle Plaza at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser