Well before the shuttle’s wheels touched down during that final mission in 2011, NASA knew it was headed on a different path. “We explore, we study, and we also inspire the next generation of people to do incredible things.” The rise of commercial space travel “Human spaceflight has a purpose,” Ferguson said. NASA decided to embark on a new path, sending its fleet of space emissaries out across the country to inspire the next generation of engineers and rocket scientists. In comparison, the space shuttle cost more than $27bn to develop (second only to Apollo) and the shuttles were not without risk, as evidenced by the loss of both the Challenger and the Columbia in 19. In contrast, the commercial crew vehicles of today are the most cost-effective human-rated spacecraft that NASA has acquired, fetching less than $7bn for two different spacecraft systems, according to an analysis of the US space agency’s data by the non-profit Planetary Society. The space shuttles flew 135 missions but were very expensive to launch and maintain. “It’s pivotal for the country and for the world to be able to see the things we can do when we put our minds to it.” “Having an opportunity to stand next to a space shuttle is very special,” Ferguson, now a Boeing astronaut, added. “The shuttle was truly one of the most unique vehicles ever built,” Chris Ferguson, a former NASA astronaut who was the commander of the final shuttle mission, told Al Jazeera. The crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, from left, mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus, pilot Doug Hurley and commander Chris Ferguson, on their way to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States for the final space shuttle launch on J The “fab five” fleet of orbiters flew for three decades, changing the way we access space.ĭuring that time, the International Space Station was built, astronauts became more than just military pilots, and many important satellites were launched, including the iconic Hubble Space Telescope. In total, NASA sent five of these flying machines into space: Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery, and Endeavor (a sixth shuttle, the Enterprise, ran flight tests but never made it beyond Earth’s atmosphere). A magnificent machine, the winged craft - which launched like a rocket and landed like a plane - was capable of flying multiple times. NASA debuted its space shuttle following the glory days of the Apollo era. Ten years after its final fight, here’s a look back at how the shuttle helped shape our ideas about humans in space from some of the astronauts it carried. Both have built on the shuttle programme’s legacy. To that end, in 2014, the US space agency selected two different companies to construct its future space taxis - Elon Musk’s SpaceX and aeroplane maker Boeing. In this new era of space travel, NASA would no longer build the vehicles, but would instead book rides on private spacecraft. That partnership flourished for nearly a decade until NASA came up with a new plan: hire commercial companies to build spaceships capable of transporting its astronauts. Without another means of sending American astronauts into space, NASA turned to Russia to safely deliver its astronauts to the International Space Station and back. The iconic orbiter that was synonymous with space travel had finally retired. Ten years ago today, the Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down for the final time, signalling the end of an era for United States space agency NASA.
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