End of An Era

Welcome home, Atlantis! In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, July 21, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis landed safely on Earth for the last time. The event was joyous, but sad, for that landing marked not only the end of Atlantis' career in space, but also the end of America's manned spaceflight for some time to come.

That saddens me. I know that many Americans believe we shouldn't be spending vast amounts of money on space travel, citing the bad economy and the multitude of problems here at home. The truth is that we waste a heck of a lot of money, time, and effort on non-essential things. In my opinion space exploration is essential; eventually Earth is going to run out of natural resources and may become an unlivable hell-hole as we try to extract every last ounce of her resources. Unfortunately, most people hold the attitude that "as long as it doesn't impact me, I don't give a darn!"

Anyway, enough of that dismal thought. Next year Atlantis is destined to be put on display at the Kennedy Space Center. Discovery will be on view at the Smithsonian in DC, and Endeavour, at the Science Center in LA. Maybe, even in retirement, the space shuttles will serve to inspire another generation and reignite our passion for space exploration.

And, although there's no timetable as yet, I've heard rumors about plans to go back to the Moon, on to Mars, even to land astronauts on an asteroid ( a potential source of endless raw materials! ). It's still sad to see our 30-year shuttle program come to a screeching halt, but at least Atlantis ended on a safe and successful note. For now, other spacefaring nations will have to carry on the cause.

Good voyage to all!

MRTighe

Milestones

Today marks not only the 100th blog I've posted---a personal milestone---but the end of an era: the last journey into space for the shuttle Atlantis. The launch this morning went off without a hitch, picture perfect. It was a sad occasion, for Atlantis is the final shuttle to go into space and will be retired to a museum upon her return to Earth.

Atlantis' 12-day mission is basically to dock with the International Space Station and restock it with enough supplies to last through 2012. Thereafter, we'll have to rely on Russian shuttles to resupply the ISS, and those vehicles cannot carry as much cargo.

While the launch of Atlantis is somewhat sad for space enthusiasts like myself, most of us are eagerly looking forward to the future adventures of "Orion", the vehicle designed to bring us back to the Moon as well as on to Mars. And I for one am particularly excited about the plasma rocket scheduled to be tested at the ISS in 2014 ( if the date hasn't been pushed back yet again! ) If that newest form of propulsion works, it could be capable of powering a vehicle to Mars in a mere 5 months! Quite an achievement.

Admittedly, I am not a scientist, but I am an avid, long-time supporter of the space program. I look forward to future space travel and exploration. Until reality catches up with science fiction, we can continue to dream and read about possible futures in space---and even some not-quite-possible adventures!

MRTighe