Go Inside NASA's Atlantis Cockpit Powered Up for One of the Last Times in These Photos

Since you won't be able to sit in the cockpit of NASA's Atlantis space shuttle while its on display in the Kennedy Space Center till the end of 2012, here are some insider photos. Astronauts operated all these buttons and switches until the shuttle program ended earlier this year.

collectSpace.com had the opportunity to to photograph the cockpit while the power was on for one of the last times.

The Daily Mail reports that Atlantis took the place of Explorer in the Florida space center, which was on display for almost 20 years and will be moved to Space Center Houston. The Daily Mail notes that the Atlantis exhibit itself cost $100 million.

Last Friday, NASA also shut down the space shuttle Discovery for the last time. This shuttle, which Space.com reports is the oldest of NASA's remaining orbiters, will be put on display at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

See more images from collectSpace.com here.