by Dennis Stein

Created on: February 10, 2010   Last Updated: December 19, 2010

Neil Armstrong's quote upon stepping out onto the lunar surface in 1969 had the entire planet captivated with a glimpse of another world on their television screens. At the time, NASA was widely held as a collection of some of the smartest people on the planet, capable of performing miracles of impossibility...

Since the very first shuttle flight, when two American astronauts flew Columbia on her maiden flight in 1981, orbiting the planet and returning to earth in a space vehicle which launched like a rocket, and returned to earth landing like a plane, people were amazed at the unique ingenuity of the space workforce at NASA. Each ship cost about 2 billion dollars, handling a crew of seven instead of three like the previous Apollo capsules. The three original shuttles cost in excess of $500 million to launch, and when Challenger was lost in 1986, Atlantis and Endeavour where eventually added to the fleet, built from spare airframes, but no less expensive. The fleet went through various upgrades through the years, including the installation of advanced cockpit electronics in each ship.

 Many nations now embarked on the ambitious International Space Station, or ISS, with the first piece launched in 1998 by Russia, followed by construction missions by each Space shuttle, continually expanding the orbital laboratory until the loss of Columbia upon re-entry in 2003. The shuttle fleet was again grounded, while investigations, and new safety procedures were introduced. Even by the time the remainder of the shuttles returned to duty, it had been decided that the unique space vehicles would be retired after the completion of ISS construction...

The Bush Administration laid out a new direction for NASA soon after, pointing the way for a return to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The plan was to construct Apollo era capsules, called Orion, launched atop new rockets to be built and tested by NASA, with a goal for manned orbital missions somewhere around 2015, five years after the planned retirement of the shuttle fleet. Billions have been spent on this 'Constellation' project since it came off the drawing board.

Fast forward now to present.... Space Shuttle Endeavour is delivering what should be the last main piece of the ISS, called node 3, or 'Tranquility' as the module has been dubbed. The fleet is still to be retired after three more flights this year, and one shuttle will be donated to the Smithsonian. NASA has dropped the garage sale price of the two remaining

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