CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis isn't going far to its retirement home at Kennedy Space Center's main tourist stop. But it might as well be a world away for the workers who spent decades doting on Atlantis and NASA's other shuttles.

Those who agreed to stay until the end — and help with the shuttles' transition from round-the-world flying marvels to museum showpieces — now face unemployment just like so many of their colleagues over the last few years.

NASA's 30-year shuttle program ended more than a year ago with Atlantis the last shuttle to orbit the Earth. Now, it's the last of three shuttles to leave the coop. Friday's one-way road trip over a mere 10 miles represents the closing chapter of what once was a passionate endeavor for so many.