July 21, 2011 6:53 p.m.

At 5:55 this morning, we were woken up early by the final twin sonic booms of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, of any Space Shuttle.  We won’t ever hear them again, it is said.  Then we listened to the radio as Atlantis made its final landing at the SLF (Shuttle Landing Facility).  And the astronauts did return safely.  And incidentally, a day after the anniversary of our landing on the moon.  Remember that?

So why did I actually weep over this event today?

Maybe it is because it is not only the end of the Shuttle program, but may also signal the end of something even bigger.  Our entire  lives, including the most recent 30 years with the shuttle program, have had a background of American dominance in space exploration, at least in my mind.  (I saw the first shuttle landing on TV in my high school French class, 30 years ago).  It is unfathomable to me that we would roll up and throw away one tube of toothpaste without having another new one already in the drawer.  It makes no sense to me.  For decades we have seen this moment coming, and yet have nothing new in place to lead our exploration further into the future.  Worse, we are going to be dependent on others for access to the ISS (International Space Station).

[As an aside, I still think of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in terms of acronyms because I worked there as an electrical engineer for a couple of years.  I actually did a study for the replacement of runway lights to restore it to enable nighttime landings.  I guess they went ahead and did the project.  I wonder if my cost estimate was realistic?]

I guess I worry about the fact that such a huge chunk of people with very specific skills are going to be out of a job in our part of the state.  I heard it would be 9,000, and there will be others in other states as well.  I guess I worry that this termination of the shuttle program is a symbol of the end of something else in America.  After all, it is possible that the reason we don’t have that new tube of toothpaste is because it costs too much now.  We’ll just have to smile our best and reminisce about how nice it was to have clean teeth back then.  With the cost of everything else today, it is to be expected that the cost of new designs, retooling, tearing down old and building new facilities to support a different kind of craft –—heck, it all would cost way too much money.  Our government is in such debt right now, and even without the space program, there is no way it can cut spending enough without failing to replace everything else in the bathroom drawer, and the pantry, as well.

Even if we charter a private company to develop what we need for space, our government simply isn’t used to not having their intrusive hands in the batter, too.  So involving private companies might not really save the government any money at all.

I guess I worry that in some way our failure to have another project in progress already symbolizes the loss of the greatness of the United States of America.  Have we passed our peak in this past generation?  Have we already seen our best days?

Self-Reliant Man says that if the shuttle program were really important enough, we would have definitely had something else in place by now.  That the shuttle program has truly outlived its usefulness.  True, without it we couldn’t have built the ISS, and repaired the Hubble telescope, but the everyday return on the shuttle program has long diminished in its importance, real or perceived.  We also have more unmanned vehicles now, launching every few months without much fanfare, and accomplishing some things.  And that’s why there isn’t a replacement.  Keeping our teeth clean is not as important as keeping fed and sheltered, so we aren’t worrying about our teeth for now. 

So you see why I worry.

UPDATE: Here is a good article with great photos about the end of this last mission / program(me).