{"id":11037,"date":"2011-07-11T10:52:29","date_gmt":"2011-07-11T15:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=11037"},"modified":"2017-08-31T14:36:18","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T19:36:18","slug":"fridays-shuttle-launch-marks-the-end-of-an-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/11037-fridays-shuttle-launch-marks-the-end-of-an-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday\u2019s Shuttle Launch Marks the End of an Era."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-11038\" title=\"STS-135_patch\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/STS-135_patch.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/STS-135_patch.png 275w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/STS-135_patch-101x120.png 101w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/STS-135_patch-272x323.png 272w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/STS-135_patch-160x190.png 160w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/STS-135_patch-101x120@2x.png 202w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/>Before I watched the Atlantis lift off on Friday, the last time I saw a Space Shuttle launch live as it happened was on a TV cart wheeled in to the classroom when I was in the fifth grade. It wasn\u2019t a common happening &#8211; this was a special event&#8230; after all, there was a teacher going into space; I don\u2019t think I have have to tell you what happened next&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>While I retained a fascination with the space program, there were no more live launches broadcast at school, and as I grew older, the launches just became something that I was peripherally aware of.<\/p>\n<p>More accurately, it was what they <em>did <\/em>on those missions that caught my attention: launching the <a href=\"http:\/\/hubble.nasa.gov\/\">Hubble Space Telescope<\/a>, helping build the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/main\/index.html\">International Space Station<\/a>, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Flawed_mirror\">repairing <\/a><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Flawed_mirror\">the Hubble<\/a>, cool things happening in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spacelab\">Spacelab<\/a>, and the like.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>What was great about the Shuttle was that it gave the United States an uncontested edge over everybody else. Sure, other countries may be able to compete in technology, education and industry, but if you wanted to get into space, you either went to the U.S. or rolled the dice and shot it up on a Russian rocket. Now, though, that little edge is gone. Now, if we want to do something on the ISS, we\u2019re hitching a ride on a Soyuz capsule. Call me nationalistic, but that kinda depresses me a little.<\/p>\n<p>So it was with a slight air of melancholy that I watched the liftoff on Friday. It wasn\u2019t a <em>perfect <\/em>launch\u2014there was a brief delay about 30 seconds before liftoff when a sensor wasn\u2019t reporting back whether or not a vent tube had cleared the pad\u2014but once the countdown hit zero, all seemed to go according to plan. I&#8217;m sure our friends over at The Last Shuttle Project got some fantastic shots.<\/p>\n<p>Atlantis will be up in the sky until July 20th, and I admit I\u2019ll be following this one a little closer than I may have followed the other ones. Heck, I\u2019ve already downloaded <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/goatlantis-space-shuttle-sts\/id445735681?mt=8\">an iOS app that tracks the Shuttle<\/a> on the off chance that I can catch a glimpse of the sun reflecting off of it as it flies overhead.<\/p>\n<p>And on the 20th, when the wheels hit the tarmac and all is said and done, the Space Shuttle program will be over.<\/p>\n<p>Then, all we get to do is reminisce as we wait for <a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/10393-us-goes-deep-into-space-with-new-vehicle\">its replacement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before I watched the Atlantis lift off on Friday, the last time I saw a Space Shuttle launch live as it happened was on a TV cart wheeled in to the classroom when I was in the fifth grade. It wasn\u2019t a common happening &#8211; this was a special event&#8230; after all, there was a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":11038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"class_list":["post-11037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-owcunplugged"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.2 (Yoast SEO v20.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Friday\u2019s Shuttle Launch Marks the End of an Era.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Atlantis will be up in the sky until July 20th, and I admit I\u2019ll be following this one a little closer than I may have 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