It’s the beginning of the end for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. The Shuttle Endeavor took off from Florida at 4:15am on Sunday, rocketing into the darkness for the last time. It was supposed to launch early Saturday night but clouds forced a delay. The Endeavor was carrying the last major piece of the International Space Station – Tranquility, a new module that will eventually house life-support equipment, exercise machines and a toilet, as well as a seven-windowed dome. The lookout has the biggest window ever sent into space, a circle 31 inches across. NASA’s aging fleet of Shuttle’s has long been scheduled to retire this year, but many were unsure whether or not the program would be extended because its replacement isn’t ready.
And it may never be – President Obama recently decided that NASA had picked the wrong destination, and the wrong new spacecraft, for it’s 2020 Constellation program’s push to return to the moon. New research for a better new rocket design, one that will travel much, much faster than the planned Aries Rockets, and a new destination (perhaps Mars) will likely be put in the hands of private firms under the supervision of NASA.
But, for now, let’s enjoy the view.
