Kennedy Space Center , Florida ( CNN ) -- Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space -- the date was April 12 , 1961 . Twenty years later on April 12 , astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen got on board the space shuttle Columbia , a craft that looked more like a plane that a rocket ship . It launched an entirely new era in space flight . Now , on the anniversary of those two historic events , NASA is scheduled to announce where the retiring orbiters Discovery , Endeavour and Atlantis will call home . NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden will make the announcement Tuesday during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center commemorating that first flight of Columbia on April 12 , 1981 . NASA officials say the orbiter Atlantis , being readied for the final shuttle flight this summer , will be the backdrop for the announcement . Hundreds of center workers are expected to attend -- many of them will likely lose their jobs when the shuttle program ends . Because the announcement is being made at Kennedy , the speculation is that the visitor center here will be awarded one of the shuttles . It is one of more than 20 locations around the country with collective fingers crossed . The drama mirrors the bidding to host an Olympic games . In Texas , home of the Johnson Space Center , members of that state 's delegation publicly lobbied for a shuttle . Rep. Pete Olson , R-Texas , said during a news conference , `` No city in the world deserves an orbiter more than Houston , Texas . '' Besides Florida and Texas , the Museum of Flight in Seattle wants one . In fact , one wall of a new space gallery where a shuttle would be housed is already up . The museum 's president , Doug King , says museum officials do n't have any inside information . `` I think that confident may be too strong a word . I think that hopeful is probably a better one , '' he says . Facilities in Chicago , New York , Dayton , Ohio , and Tulsa , Oklahoma , also all want one . Landing an orbiter will be huge . The Kennedy visitor center estimates a shuttle will bring in 200,000 more guests every year . The economic impact to the area is estimated at $ 15 million . At New York 's Intrepid Museum , Executive Director Susan Marenoff told CNN , `` Figure over 300,000 people additional to the Intrepid , to New York City . Couple that with $ 106 million in economic benefit , we think that 's a pretty good deal . '' Rep. Giffords plans to attend husband 's shuttle launch . A good deal , Marenoff says because the winning locations have to fork over $ 28.8 million to NASA for the vehicles . They also must guarantee a climate-controlled building will be constructed to house their shuttle . That 's still a bargain , officials at the bidding locations say , because of return on investment as one of only three locations in the world that will have a shuttle that flew in space . One of the orbiters -- Discovery , the oldest -- is already believed to be spoken for . The overwhelming odds are it 's heading to the Smithsonian . The Enterprise , a test shuttle , which never flew into space , is there now . It would be awarded , at a discounted price , to one of the locations that does not get either Endeavour or Atlantis . The announcement of the winning locations will make one thing crystal clear : the space shuttle program is coming to a close . The winged lifting bodies launched satellites , built a space station , launched and repaired a telescope . Now , they become museum pieces .
Several sites are vying to be the final homes of the retiring space shuttles . The shuttles Atlantis , Endeavour and Atlantis carry historic and economic value . CNN administrator John Young will announce Tuesday where the shuttles will go . 20 years later the date of the first human space flight and , 20 years later , the first shuttle flight .