BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Monday was the last chance to apply to NASA for space shuttle mission memorabilia. Only five missions away from retirement, the three shuttles are the biggest prizes and Eyewitness News took at a look at the local efforts to keep a shuttle in Central Florida.

When the last shuttle returns from its final mission, the remaining orbiters will become the mother of all antiques. Schools, museums and collectors are scrambling to meet a deadline to apply for the chance to own spare parts, space suits and any other NASA gadget. But the shuttles themselves will be the most sought-after prize.

“We've got to have one here, it just has to be here. This is the home. Every shuttle mission launched from here,” NASA Visitor Complex COO Bill Moore said.

The NASA Visitor's Center wants plenty of the trinkets and will get many of them for tourists to ogle at. However, they'll have to battle plenty of other museums for the chance to get a shuttle. One is already slated for the Smithsonian Museum, so there are only two left.

A mock-up of a space shuttle sits outside the complex, but if the real thing were to be displayed at the visitor's center, it would be in an enclosed environment.

“Totally enclosed environment, air conditioned, out of the weather. The shuttle would be taken care of for all time,” Moore said. “It's gonna be a fight."

The University of Central Florida’s space consultant, Dale Ketchum, is part of the fight and he says it's critical to make politicians aware of what's at stake.

“This is the I-4 corridor of Central Florida, which is politically that part of the country that is most in contention in a presidential election. That's an asset and a card we need to play,” Ketchum said.

The timeline works perfectly in Central Florida's favor, with the White House having final say and the decision coming right before the next election.

Former astronaut and Senator Bill Nelson is also taking a leading roll in keeping one shuttle in Florida, but Monday his office would not elaborate on efforts behind the scenes in Washington.

At this point, NASA isn't charging for the shuttles, just the costs of moving them.