This article I read was about the end of the Apollo Space Era. The ship Atlantis is taking its last mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). Over 30 years, 135 missions, and 2 mission mishaps, this and it’s sister ships are all being dispersed to museums. Millions of dollars are saved, but many people lose their jobs. The last flight was scheduled for July 8, 2011 from Florida. The shuttle was made to be reusable so that a new ship wouldn’t have to be created for every launch. This ended up not working because the cost to maintain the shuttles was too expensive. One mishap of the shuttles was in 1986, when the gasket in of the booster rockets disintegrated in mid-air shortly after lift-off, killing its crew of seven. There were successes though, such as the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. In the future, space programs hope to be able to sell seats to the moon for $200,000 a seat.
Link: http://www.economist.com/node/18895018
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