The mood was bittersweet in Cape Canaveral. this morning, as the space shuttle Atlantis landed, bringing NASA’s 30-year-old shuttle program to a close. A permanent marker will be placed on the runway where Atlantis touched down just before 6:00 AM EDT. In its final mission, the 135th of the shuttle program, Atlantis brought supplies to the International Space Station. With the end of the shuttle era, NASA’s involvement in future space flight has been called into question. Clara Moskowitz, senior writer for Space.com, was in Cape Canaveral for the landing, and she reports live about the final moments of the shuttle program.
Richard Hieb, a former astronaut, joined NASA in 1979, two years before the first shuttle launch. He became an astronaut in 1986, six months after the mid-air explosion of the shuttle Challenger. Heib flew three missions between 1991 and 1994. He talks about the legacy – and the enduring value – of the Shuttle Program.