The End of an Era.

Hello this post should have been earlier, but I was at Comic-Con (more on that later) when Atlantis Landed and I didn't have a computer with me.

Last Thursday the space shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center. It was the 33rd flight of Atlantis, and the 135th flight of the Space Shuttle program, it was also the programs last. At 30 years the Space Shuttle program is by far the longest space exploration program undertaken by NASA.

It's too soon to really know the legacy of the Space Shuttle, but as of now there are a few things that are clear. On the positive it filled the dreams of an entire generation, myself included, who have never known a world where people weren't going to space in a gleaming white bird. More people of different walks of life have gone to space than would have been possible without the relative ease of use and safety of the shuttle. And lastly it kept America in space, believe me despite all it's problems, we would have abandoned space long ago if we had stayed with disposable spacecraft.

Of course there always is a but. And the big but is that the Space Shuttle never completely delivered. First it took nearly ten years from, the issuing of the first contracts and the first flight of Columbia. The craft was also oversold, with claims of one week turnarounds, between flights. There was probably no way that the shuttle could have ever made this, but it captured the public imagination and gave it's detractors instant ammunition. It cost more than anticipated. And while it still had a better failure rate than most jetliners, When it failed it did so spectacularly in the loss of Challenger, Columbia and their crews.

But it was not the death of the crews, the overruns, and the failure to meet oversold expectations that killed the Space Shuttle. It was us. The danger of space travel is so great that it's almost a miracle that NASA only lost two of the Space Shuttles, no disrespect to the crews. And the cost of the entire program is a fraction of the cost of our millitary action in Iraq, and i'd be willing to say we've gotten more value for our money with the Shuttle. No we doomed the shuttle with our apathy. Space travel became ordinary, more so than ever because of the Shuttle's dependability and reusability. With minor exceptions we don't know the names of any astronauts any more and until the last few what the shuttle crews where doing in Space didn't even warrant a second on the news. Even as an advocate of space travel, I found myself not caring anymore. Was it because it wasn't as exciting as the day's of the moon? Maybe. But I hate to think that we're that cynical that Human's in space are boring.

The official reasons for the end of the Shuttle are going to forever be listed as cost and safety. But it's us and our lack of interest. I know this because in 1986 when we lost Challenger, the same issues where brought to the forefront, but back then we believed in space travel and the program returned. Too bad that spirit was gone when the next dark day came.