A Sad Day in History

Image courtesy of NASA

Having watched what some have thought to be routine launches and landings of our space shuttles for 30 years, today is a very sad day for me. At 5:57am EDT Atlantis touched down, marking the end of the space shuttle program. I don't want to be mellowdramatic here, but I'm at a loss for words. (Some of those I live with might find this to be a positive thing!) I've been following the space shuttle program since Columbia first took to the skies on April 12, 1981. I'm going to miss the anticipation of the next launch. And this on the anniversary of our first moon walk! I'm going to miss geeking out by following the missions on NASA's own NASA-TV, which provided me with much more coverage and detail than our news channels ever did. Oh the hours I'd spend with NASA-TV tuned in, boring my family out of their minds, just to see the crews be strapped in and the shuttle's hatch being closed. Yes, I was that bad. Admittedly, I was probably too geeky when it came to our shuttle program but, personally, today is a sad day for me.