The_Assimilator
Executive Member
As any space watchers know, the Space Shuttle Atlantis landed today after what is intended to be her 32nd and final mission. Commissioned in 1979, her first spaceflight was 6 years later for the Department of Defense; the 5th of six Shuttles built, she's been flying for NASA as long as I've been alive.
But all good things come to an end, and with war and economic issues taking the majority of the USA budget, spending on space has taken a back seat, with the result that the Shuttles will no longer fly after this year. Instead, NASA will have to rely on Russian rockets to get them to the ISS, until their own "new rocket" program is completed.
Personally I have always been awed by the Shuttles. The concept is still brilliant today, and when you remember that their design was completed in the 1970s, you get a good idea of how forward-thinking the engineers were. No other country - not even the Soviet Union - has been able to create anything close to the Shuttle in terms of usefulness, longevity and majesty. I'm sad to see the Shuttles retired, but I am glad to have been able to be part of a generation who grew up with these magnificent machines and dreams of space.
There may yet be another mission for Atlantis, but even if there is not, she has served us well. NASA intends to sell her and her sisterships for around $30m each, and I hope that every one of them find a deserving home.
Finally, let us take this opportunity to remember the brave souls who have perished during their trips to the final frontier:
On 28 January 1986, Challenger exploded after takeoff, killing Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe (a schoolteacher), Gregory Jarvis and Judith Resnik.
On 01 February 2003, Columbia broke up on reentry, with the loss of Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon (the first Israeli astronaut), Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown and Laurel Clark.
To me they are the true heroes of our time - not soldiers who died fighting for their country, but people who gave their lives in the pursuit of knowledge to benefit all of humankind.
I leave you with this image of Atlantis, docked with the ISS for the final time, as both pass in front of the Sun.
But all good things come to an end, and with war and economic issues taking the majority of the USA budget, spending on space has taken a back seat, with the result that the Shuttles will no longer fly after this year. Instead, NASA will have to rely on Russian rockets to get them to the ISS, until their own "new rocket" program is completed.
Personally I have always been awed by the Shuttles. The concept is still brilliant today, and when you remember that their design was completed in the 1970s, you get a good idea of how forward-thinking the engineers were. No other country - not even the Soviet Union - has been able to create anything close to the Shuttle in terms of usefulness, longevity and majesty. I'm sad to see the Shuttles retired, but I am glad to have been able to be part of a generation who grew up with these magnificent machines and dreams of space.
There may yet be another mission for Atlantis, but even if there is not, she has served us well. NASA intends to sell her and her sisterships for around $30m each, and I hope that every one of them find a deserving home.
Finally, let us take this opportunity to remember the brave souls who have perished during their trips to the final frontier:
On 28 January 1986, Challenger exploded after takeoff, killing Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe (a schoolteacher), Gregory Jarvis and Judith Resnik.
On 01 February 2003, Columbia broke up on reentry, with the loss of Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon (the first Israeli astronaut), Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown and Laurel Clark.
To me they are the true heroes of our time - not soldiers who died fighting for their country, but people who gave their lives in the pursuit of knowledge to benefit all of humankind.
I leave you with this image of Atlantis, docked with the ISS for the final time, as both pass in front of the Sun.
