Last Space Shuttle launch
 

Last chance to see it. Watch the launch of Atlantis at 4:26 UK time here http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

Depends on the weather though.

why is the last one?

The program is being cancelled, basically. Will be years before the Americans have anything to replace it.

The end of an era... it's a shame.

:nono: only if it dont rain i am looking forward to seeing this should be on soon :hugesmile:

I thought theyd continue going up until they discover a lot more than they currently do.

They can't afford it anymore

They want to explore further afield (Moon, Mars, asteroids etc.) but Space Shuttle can only go to a low Earth orbit. The idea by cancelling the Shuttle is to free up money to develop a new launch system and allow commercial companies to do what the Shuttle does now. That's the plan anyway.

thats sad but it makes sense. I wonder how long it will take for the next trip to space :D

31 sec stop

10 9

I watched it live, It was so interesting!

The landing is planned for the morning at 10:56 am.