Space shuttle replica 'Explorer' finds new home

Space Shuttle replica "Explorer" arrives at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston after the journey from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, June 3, 2012.

HOUSTON - Space shuttle replica "Explorer" successfully moved into its new home, the Space Center Houston, on Sunday after a nearly six-hour journey.

Aboard a 144-wheel trailer, the 37-meter-tall artifact weighing some 59 tonnes began moving in the morning, and a lot of Houstonians lined the roadway to watch what called "a perfect and cool thing."

On Friday, the shuttle replica arrived in Houston's Clear Lake after a week-long trek from the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida.

The shuttle replica's arrival was followed by a "Shuttlebration" at the Space Center Houston, which will offer viewing opportunities of the replica, NASA space exploration exhibits and other fun activities.

The board of Space Center Houston, which has reportedly launched a $3million-campaign, has decided to fund the transportation cost and underwrite the necessary facilities improvements for the new exhibits.

Built over the course of 13 months for $1.7 million, the shuttle replica was installed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center in November 1993.