Saying goodbye to the shuttle...

Please take the time to watch the video under "Diversions". One of John Denver's gifts was that he could speak for so many people.

Early this morning, the final NASA shuttle mission touched down. 30 years worth of history, technology, invention, refinement...and yes, tragedy. Two tremendous tragedies that should not totally overshadow all that was accomplished during those years. I think I will attempt to find a listing of the discoveries that came out of that program. I'm sure that if we were to go all the way back to the Mercury program to create that list, there would be an untold number of technologies that we take for granted today that came out of these programs. The one that always initially comes to mind is Velcro...

The story goes that for the next few years, NASA will "rely on the Russians to ferry astronauts to the space station and back, at a cost of up to $63 million per seat." (msnbc.com/Alan Boyle)
You know, that is a lot of dollars, and when presented to the general public in that context, I think it makes most of us pause.

I do know that I am grateful, and somewhat in awe of the professionals who dedicated their lives to take on "pushing the envleope" of aeronautics, mathematics, engineering, medicine, psychology, physical science, and most any other scientific endeavor to explore what could be done. And I hope that we will never give up the cultivation of curiosity and desire for discovery that kept this program alive.