Space Shuttle Signing Off...

The Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) lifted off for the Final Space Shuttle mission (STS-135) at 11:29 a.m. on Friday, July 8, 2011. The primary purpose for this mission to is carry the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module filled with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station -- the mission is scheduled to last for 13 days. The crew members for this final space shuttle mission are; Commander Christopher Ferguson, Pilot Douglas Hurley, Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.

This mission marks the end of the Space Shuttle program more than 30 years after the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) on April 12, 1981. I can still remember watching that launch on the television with my father. He commented about how fast it lifted off compared to the rockets used in the Apollo program.

The Space Shuttle program actually began in 1972 when President Nixon introduced the program as a way for NASA to conduct multiple mission each year and lower the cost of each mission by having a reusable space vehicle. The first Orbital Vehicle (OV) introduced was Space Shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) on September 17, 1976. This shuttle was originally planned to be named Constitution, but a write-in campaign by fans of Star Trek convinced the White House to rename the space vehicle. The Space Shuttle Enterprise never flew in space and was only used to perform test flights in earth's atmosphere.

The Space Shuttle Enterprise has been visually restored as is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia next to the Washington-Dulles International Airport. The museum is open to the public and holds many exhibits that cannot be displayed at the Smithsonian site at the National Mall. Find more detailed information and trip planning resources at their website: http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

The first fully functional shuttle to fly into space was Space Shuttle Columbia which completed 27 missions and holds the records for the longest shuttle flight of 17 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes and 18 seconds. The Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed in a reentry accident on February 1, 2003. The Columbia accident was second loss for the fleet, Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was lost in an accident shortly after take-off on January 28, 1986 due to the failure of an O-Ring in the shuttle's solid rocket booster.

A total of five shuttles have flown into outer space, together they will have completed 135 missions (once the current flight ends) over a 30 year period. The complete shuttle fleet includes:

• Enterprise OV-101 (Never intended for space flight)
• Columbia OV-102 (Destroyed during mission STS-107)
• Challenger OV-099 (Destroyed during mission STS-51L)
• Discovery OV-103
• Atlantis OV-104 - Used for Final Space Shuttle Mission
• Endeavour OV-105

The Space Shuttle program has been used to complete numerous tasks in outer space including Space Lab Missions to study science, astronomy, crystal growth and space physics. The program has also closely supported the MIR and International Space Stations. Additionally the shuttle program was used to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope, which has sent back thousands of images from deep space.

I agree that the Space Shuttle program has cost the United States taxes payers lots of money, one estimate puts the price tag at $193 Billion over its 40-year-life-span. The shuttle program when introduced by Richard Nixon was supposed to lower the cost of space travel and I admit that does not appear to have happened. Using the current estimates each flight into space has cost the Country $1.4 billion, which is significantly higher than the $7 million per flight estimated in the early days of the program. In today's economic crisis it is easy to put the space shuttle program on the chopping block, but ask yourself "How have I benefited from the Space Shuttle program?"

Most people are blind to the number of tangible benefits they have been giving by space exploration, because they are tainted with ideas of flying cars, transporter beams and commercial inter-planetary travel because of movies and television shows! People constantly question the need for a space program (space shuttles) and ask what has it done for us (me)? The benefits of space exploration can practically been seen in all aspects of modern life! Cordless power tools and better home insulations have resulted from space experiments and projects. In the health care setting laser surgical tools and better diagnostic imaging devices have come from the space program. You would not have cellular phones and digital television if not for the discoveries made during space exploration missions - think about that next time you text your best friend about what just happened on The Jersey Shore!

The Space Shuttle fleet was mandated for retirement in 2011 (which will completely occur after this mission) by President George W. Bush as a directive in his Vision for Space Exploration plan. The future of the shuttle's successor -- the Constellation program is in serious question. In 2010 President Obama effectively canceled the Constellation program by not providing any funding for it; citing cost over-runs, delays and a lack of project innovation as his reasons. President Obama has established a time-table for choosing a new heavy-lift vehicle (shuttle replacement) of 2015 as part of his US National Space Policy.

The Space Shuttle program has been criticized for failing to achieve its promised cost and utility goals. A number of concerns over safety issues have also been raised as reasons to disband the program (and all of space exploration). As I child, I dreamed about trips to the moon and other planets. My brother and I along with our friends would pretend our bikes were space ships as we blasted off for boy-hood adventures. We must continue the space program and find a suitable replacement for the retiring shuttle fleet; there are more discovers to be made, more inventions to be created and dreams to be fulfilled!