End of the Space Shuttle Program

Woooow.... We don´t have that in Sweden I can tell you !!

I remember watching it on TV. What a spectacular launch. Too bad they're shelving it. The space shuttle was supposed to be a work horse and it certainly did that but the cost was, in one respect, prohibitive. I also remember seeing the very first shuttle named Enterprise sitting atop a converted 747 on its way to the Smithsonian. End of an era. A shame really.

Listen to an interview today with (Ret) Captain Robert Crippen. He piloted the first shuttle flight in 1981. He expressed disappointment that NASA is abandoning the shuttle program with no other way to send its astronauts into space. You can listen to the interview using this link.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=2043485140

Wow. That's awesome, man:-)

During my life, I've seen Sputnik, the space race, the Apollo, Gemini and the Shuttle programs. 

I've seen science fiction become science fact... triumph and tragedies along the way. While I was watching the last shuttle launch today the countdown paused at 31 seconds and so did I. I paused a moment to remember all those tied to the space program whose last day, flight, launch or mission came before today.

How fortunate I've been to have seen all this.... and how I wonder what is to come?

Good pics, I.D.  

While its sad to see the shuttle go, but its understandable. NASA has not contributed anything worth while in many years, instead just focusing on that stupid space station and spaced based telescopes while ignoring the real priorities.

I am glad you got to see this in person, I never got to see a live shuttle launch and now I never will.

Unbelievable that the US don't have a replacement for the Shuttles.

It was an icon ...  when you think of Space you think of the American Space Program and the Shuttle.

Sad days 

they do...

Still.  It is the end of an era.

Do you mind if I use those for my desktop background? Those are great pics!

I've only had the privilege to see one launch in person. Unfortunetly, it was the Columbia mission that didn't come back.

Ditto.

side note - I wish I had the foresight to decide to plan a vacation around this.  You saw history in the making. 

Wish I did too. I was born around the year the first one went up. Hope I make it at least one year past the end of it.

The really amazing thing is that every day is history in the making... some of it more momentous (or so we think) at the time. But this day happened because eons ago someone sat down and tried to figure out a better way to throw a rock or a stick. Then to make it sharper, go faster, farther, etc.

I hold on to the fact that America will get everything fixed and we'll eventually see a return of space flight and NASA. I just hope it's in my lifetime.

I dunno about fact, but it would be nice to see us pick up that awe and gusto and combine it with a return to a kick ass attitude of can-do!

Yes,  I was witness to all of those also.  From the fear of Sputnik, the space race, the 3 tragic losses, the glory of the moon landings to the sadness that we didn't settle the moon and continue outward.  What a wasted opportunity for America and mankind.

As much as everyone will probably hate me for saying this-

It's about time.

The shuttle fleet was old; it was driven primarily be political requirements (in some ways)......and wasn't quite as cost effective for lifting mundane systems, like satellites and telescopes, into space on a regular basis. While it may have been intended to be a workhorse, IMO, at least, it simply didn't quite live up to the hype. Using an expendable booster would probably have been cheaper for quite a lot of tasks the Shuttle has been used for.

That being said, it's still a bit of a sad time to see it go. The Shuttle was an engineering marvel (albeit a somewhat overcosted one), and it was, for its time, quite momentous.

Oh, and just my $0.02:

When I think of "space", I think of space-stuff. Not space programs. When I do think of space programs.....well, then I think of the Moon missions, Apollo, and the experiments and thinktanks with nuclear propulsion and interstellar probes.

Not the Shuttle program.

WRT spaceflight pickup......I wouldn't bet on it. The current launch limits are around some 30-50 launches per year, IIRC. Development of radically new boosters simply isn't cost-effective. The boosters we have will continue to be refined in design, yes.....but not radically, unless we get some kind of technology breakthrough. The boosters in current use are quite simply perfectly adequate for current launch needs.

I'm going to take great offense at this, for the simple reason that "that stupid space station" is a far more vital reason for humans to go into space at present than anything else. "space based telescopes" are also quite important; they give us clear pictures of the universe, which are vital for astrophysics research.

And it's a real good idea to know where you're going before actually getting off the ground.

If you're going to be getting off the ground it's actually more important to have the odd plan or two in place regarding  'the return' ...;)

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing...;)

Yep, a sad day indeed with the ending of the space shuttle program.

In 1977 I was stationed at Edwards AFB in California the day the space shuttle Enterprise made its maiden voyage and landed there. A picture of it landing adorns my wall here in my computer room.  It was a truly historic event and the Enterprise was the only shuttle never to go into space, it was the one launched off the back of a Boeing 747 only and then flown to earth testing out the various systems. I believe it now resides in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

True, true.

I probably should have mentioned that......but then again, it is a bit of a "you're an idiot if you forgot that part!" for rocket designers.

Private companies competing against each other is a much better system then a wasteful government monopoly. After the cold war was over and all the pressure was dropped what exactly did NASA accomplish? If you actually bother to look up the private companies like SpaceX that are building the next generation of shuttles I think you will be impressed by the innovation and ambition. Let NASA do the long term science and let the day to day stuff be handled by the private sector.

Eventually if space exploration is ever to reach it's full potential and become anything more then a money sink private sector will have to take over and actually make some money, ie space mining, space tourism, orbital solar etc. In order for this to happen they need to build exposure and expertise in space technology.

I'm sad that NASA and the U.S government weren't organized enough to keep the shuttle program alive until the next generation was actually ready, but I'm excited about the possibilities that the new generation of private companies will bring to space exploration and development. If anything NASA rode on the momentum of it's past glory for far to long, and more would be accomplished today if the private sector had taken over sooner.

the private sector is taking over because space is becoming profitable.  As usual, the people take the lumps and then after the tech has been proven and cost effective the companies take over to capitalize on the new profits to be made.  The profits belong to the people, but since our representatives don't do their jobs correctly we won't ever realize that profit.