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
No comments:
Post a Comment