Launch of space shuttle Atlantis marks end of era

The World

Today’s launch of space shuttle Atlantis marks the last of NASA’s manned shuttle missions. With the closing of the shuttle program comes, not only an unclear future for future space exploration, but also a sadness for those aspiring astronauts who have spent years training to go into space. Kate Rubins, a member of the astronaut class of 2009,  discusses the implications of the program’s end and how she’ll be an astronaut in a post-shuttle world.

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