(Note: Since the launch on July 8th, 2011 of NASA's space shuttle orbiter Atlantis, the last shuttle/spaceship to orbit the Earth and to dock with/at the International Space Station (ISS), I got interested in learning more about NASA's space programs via the internet, specifically on YouTube. Yes, I somehow got hooked on knowing/watching the latest happenings of the Atlantis and the International Space Station, specially now that the latter has six residents on board. The Expedition 28 crew of ISS are Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko (commander), Sergei Volkov (flight engineer), Alexander Samokutyaev (flight engineer), Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (flight engineer), NASA/American astronauts Ronald Garan, Jr. (flight engineer) and Michael "Mike" Fossum (flight engineer, who will be the next commander of ISS- Expedition 29). It's unbelievable what cooperation and collaboration can do! Together is the future, as NASA stated.
Reading/researching and watching more about NASA on newspapers and in the internet, I came to know that this final flight of Atlantis also culminates the end of the space agency's shuttle mission program that has been in existence since 1981. This 135th shuttle flight is, therefore, historical. The NASA/American astronauts that made up the STS (Space Transport System)-135 crew of Atlantis are US Navy Captain (Retired) Christopher Ferguson (commander), US Marine Colonel Doug Hurley (pilot), and two mission specialists Dr. Sandra Magnus and US Air Force Colonel (Retired) Rex Walheim. Their mission to ISS, according to NASA, is to "deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts to sustain the orbiting station or outpost's operations once the shuttle retires" and to bring trash back to Earth. After 12 or 13 days in orbit, Atlantis is scheduled to be back to Earth on July 21, Thursday morning. And, thereafter, the spaceship becomes a museum piece/exhibit like the other space shuttles Enterprise (at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York), Discovery ( at Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, and Endeavor (to California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. The shuttle-orbiter Atlantis will be housed or on display at Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Florida.
On the other hand, NASA's abandonment of the space shuttle program doesn't mean the end of space program for the United States. On the contrary, private/commercial companies, such as Virgin Galactic (by Sir Richard Branson, founder and CEO of the Virgin Group), Blue Origin (by Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com), and Bigelow Aerospace (by Robert Bigelow, owner of Budget Suites of America hotels), will take over the building and flying of space vehicles, and building of private space stations for space "tourists or travelers" while the National Aeronautics and Space Agency will focus/concentrate on sending mankind to an asteroid, and again to the moon, and other planets like Mars. Yes, the quest for space exploration continues. Indeed, collaboration and cooperation, togetherness, unity and harmony are the keys to a successful space exploration. Hence, I wish NASA and its partners all the best in their future endeavors for humankind!Thank you to all of our world's astronauts, cosmonauts, scientists, engineers, and explorers, past, present, and future, for your undying vision and mission of venturing into space and beyond the next frontier. Hail to you all heroes of space exploration for all your efforts, contributions, and sacrifices! And to those who have gone before us, leaving their legacy of awe and wonder, excitement and discovery, for the sake of Science, may you rest in peace! May your legacy live on and on...
Capturing the moment in the history of space exploration, I have scribbled the following lines for posterity's sake.)
Space Exploration Collaboration
Russia's Sputnik started it
then America followed
the quest for space
and the challenge was set
thus, space race began
with Yuri Gagarin into orbit...
followed by Alan Shepard and John Glenn
of Project Mercury, and then
Guss Grissom and John Young
of Project Gemini...
Then the Apollo astronauts went to the moon
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins
and others, the rest, like Sally Ride
the first American female astronaut in space
they all made history
in the name of space exploration...
Early on, USSR and USA in spotlight
two powerful countries became enemies
two rival powerful countries became friends
partners to collaboration and teamwork
Mir and Skylab in joint partnership
then, Soyuz and space shuttle missions
from dreams to reality
fifteen countries in unity
working and sharing together
hopefully, forever and ever.
Now, the birth of the ISS
the International Space Station
the largest artificial satellite on Earth
so far an orbiting laboratory
a product of ingenuity
and unity for all humanity.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
the Russian Federal Space Agency
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
the Canadian Space Agency
the European Space Agency
they all have joined together
and with others, hopefully, forever
to make the ISS a beauty in the sky
an object visible to the naked eye
over two hundred miles above the Earth
orbiting every ninety-two minutes
continuously, without stopping
day or night, night or day
working and exploring
testing and researching
for peace, for a better life
here on Earth and beyond
the outer space...
copyright 2011 by chris alibin quilpa
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