At 11:28 am eastern time, the final space shuttle, Atlantis, took of from Kennedy Space center in Florida. The image above was taken just after liftoff. NASA broadcasted the launch live on their website, and you could see thousands of people watching. I've had the pleasure of watching a shuttle or two launch from the beaches of the space coast, and let me tell you it's a spectacular sight. Sadly, the space shuttle program ended today, mostly due to lack of funding from the government.
The first space shuttle, Columbia, launched in April of 1981, and a total of 134 space shuttle missions have occurred since then. The purpose of many shuttle missions was to construct the international space station (ISS), bring the ISS supplies, transport people to and from the ISS, and service telescopes and other equipment in space. Other countries will continue to have manned shuttle missions to the ISS and elsewhere. There's even a chance that private businesses will fund or conduct shuttle missions of their own here in the US! But unless something tragic happens at the ISS, NASA's shuttle program will stay dormant. Hopefully funding will be renewed in the near future and we will again be able to send astronauts into space!
Image credit: NASA TV
