Shuttle Atlantis' new home topped off

The massive new building that has sprouted up on the Kennedy Space Center landscape to display the space shuttle Atlantis as a national treasure was "topped off" in ceremony Wednesday. A beam weighing nearly 2,000 pounds was hoisted 116 feet off the ground to the highest point in the framework for the $100 million attraction at the privately-run KSC Visitor Complex.

See our coverage from Atlantis' final mission.

Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now

Atlantis will be housed in this new 65,000-square-foot, 6-story-tall facility

Atlantis arrives Nov. 2 and the attraction opens to the public next July

Workers await Wednesday's beam ceremony

The beam was fitted with a traditional tree and American flag

KSC Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana signs the beam

The crane operator stands by

The Vistor Complex is privately run

Construction of Atlantis' new home began in January

More than 60 exhibits will be part of the Atlantis facility

KSC Director Bob Cabana gives a brief speech to workers and officials

The crane begins hoisting the beam

The beam weighs nearly 2,000 pounds

The beam rises towards it position 116 feet high

This open portion of the building is how Atlantis will enter

Atlantis' nose will point to the right-hand side of this picture

This cutout is where a full-scale mockup of Hubble will go

A wider view of the Hubble Space Telescope area