Well, the shuttle Atlantis landed safely early this morning signaling the end of the shuttle program. The end of thirty fantastic, productive, humbling, and at times, tragic years of exploration. What's so great about the shuttle is that it is a reusable vehicle - I mean, how cool is it that it takes off like a rocket but lands like an airplane?
One little tidbit you should know about me is that I'm a total space nerd. I love NASA, I love space, I love everything to do with space travel and exploration. As a student at the NCSU College of Textiles I was always trying to figure out a way to see what they were (and still are) working on in the Mars Mission Lab (and you thought us textile people just made underwear and towels). I've done the pilgrimages to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama (where it really all started) and Kennedy Space Center where I was even lucky enough to see a shuttle launch 10 years ago. Seeing that launch was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced, it's so fast, so bright and so awe inspiring. And while the future of our space program is a little fuzzy right now, we should never forget that space exploration reminds us to think bigger, aim higher, reach farther and to always look up and imagine the possibilities.
