Following its final mission in June, space shuttle Endeavour has been turned over to its new owner, the California Science Center in Los Angeles. NASA transfered ownership of the spacecraft this week, but it will not be moved until next year.

Another space shuttle, the Discovery, is due for delivery to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a branch of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Va., which also houses the shuttle Enterprise. Enterprise will eventually be moved to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.

Shuttle Atlantis, meanwhile, which returned from its final mission to the International Space Station in July, will stay at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Atlantis is presently undergoing prep work at the Orbiter Processing Facility-2.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the agency is sending Endeavour to the CSC to help inspire a new generation of explorers. "The next chapter in space exploration begins now, and we're standing on the shoulders of the men and women of the shuttle program to reach farther into the solar system," he said.

The Endeavour is currently housed in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center and will be moved to the Orbiter Processing Facility within the month.

In 2012, after NASA has finished its post-mission work and the display preparations at the CSC are worked out, the Endeavour will be delivered on a 747 shuttle carrier to Los Angeles International Airport, after which it will be driven through the streets of LA to the CSC in Exposition Park.