Last flight of the Space Shuttle: a 30-year retrospective

Last flight of the Space Shuttle: a 30-year retrospective

 

 

The United States has been a space-faring nation for just over 50 years, ever since Alan Shepard's suborbital pop shot aboard Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961. In the following eight years the US, and mankind, went from being earthbound to making the first lunar landing.

Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were followed by the longest lull in America's manned space program to date, but starting in 1981 with the maiden flight of Columbia, the space shuttle program became the stalwart backbone of America's manned space flight program. With the final planned shuttle mission only hours from its scheduled launch, we take a moment to look back at over 30 years of history, achievements, and tragic failures.

More info:http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/07/30-years-of-manned-space-flight-the-last-flight-of-the-space-shuttle.ars