Showing posts with label shuttle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shuttle. Show all posts

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Atlantis Returns: The End of a Great Era

I wonder, is this how space exploration aficionados felt after Apollo 17 (1972) or the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975) missions, when there was a lull in our manned efforts until the shuttle finally flew (1981)?  (I am not ignoring Skylab, but Apollo 17 ended the manned trips to the moon, while Skylab continued the string of our Earth-orbital missions, then Apollo-Soyuz ended them.) Welcome home, Atlantis!