Today the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on its final mission to the International Space Station. This marks the final liftoff of the space shuttle program itself. Watch the live feed from NASA’s web site.
Although the future of space flight lies in the private sector, it is sad to see NASA out of the human spaceflight arena. NASA plans to return, but given the vagaries of democracy and urgent demands on the U.S. government budget, who knows when?