Atlantis Returns To Earth Ending 30 Years Of Service.

[jdmidwest]

Having a Uncle in the Manned Space Program at Mission Control in Houston as a kid drove me to keep up with NASA. A photo of the first Gemini launch greets me each morning as I get up that he gave me years ago.

The first shuttle launched 30 years ago, the last took off last week. Over the years I watched them go up and come down. I was watching for both of the mishaps. I took time out of my busy work schedule to watch Atlantis go off, and this morning I watched her come back for the final time.

Times have changed, I saved the MP4 file of the launch and shared it with my 2 1/2 year old grandson and watched his amazement in his young eyes. 30 years ago, none of that was even possible to a normal person. I type from a more powerful computer system than the one that controlled the shuttle and it takes up less space. I can't help but think that all of that technology has made our lives better.