Space Shuttle Discovery made its final landing yesterday. Astronaut Michael Barratt noted it was “about time” for the shuttle to retire, but at the same time he and the rest of the crew expressed sadness at the occasion:
“This is a pretty bittersweet moment for all of us,” [Commander] Lindsey said on the runway. “As the minutes pass, I’m getting sadder and sadder about this being the last flight. And I know all the folks involved in the shuttle program feel the same way.”
A lot of that feeling comes from the knowledge that there is no new spacecraft to replace the aging fleet of shuttles.
Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to make its final journey into the great beyond in April, followed by Atlantis in June.
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“A lot of that feeling comes from the knowledge that there is no new spacecraft to replace the aging fleet of shuttles.”
This burns me up. It’s utter nonsense that NASA doesn’t have a replacement.
I’m with ya, buddy. Hopefully this is where the private sector picks up the slack.
That would be a great solution, assuming we don’t dive off into a global depression because of the idjits in Washington.
Despite the association of the Great Depression with distraught formerly-rich guys jumping off of buildings, most industrious, wealthy people actually did quite well during the Depression. Unless the American people opt for massive socialism (which is a legitimate concern), the industrious class will keep doing what they do best.
True, but then we still had a massive manufacturing base and capital tied to physical assets. And no invading forces on the mainland.
When Mycenaean civilization took their swan dive, it was abrupt and final. They were a mighty civilization for the time, skilled in trade, art and manufacturing (the literal meaning of it!) goods but it was all over before anyone knew it.
I’m not saying we are going down that road, but the industrious class were swept aside with the rest of that civilization.