http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37176269/ns/technology_and_science-space/
On Friday afternoon, the space shuttle Atlantis launched from Cape Canaveral on it's last mission before it is retired. The launch went off without a hitch and the shuttle made it safely into space. Today, Atlantis finally arrived at the International Space Station, where astronauts will be delivering equipment that will help keep the station running after the shuttle program ends. There will also be three space walks made by the astronauts during their week-long stay. There will only be two more shuttle launches before the program ends: Discovery is expected to launch in September, and Endeavor in November. This is due to President Obama ending low-Earth orbit expeditions and focusing instead on asteroid and Mars expeditions.
I am glad that Atlantis made it to the ISS without any big problems. I watched the shuttle launch on friday afternoon on TV and it was pretty cool to see. It's kind of dissapointing that Obama decided to end the shuttle program. American astronauts will still be able to travel to the ISS, but they will now have to hitch a ride on russian shuttles. However, I understand that the program cost a lot of money and it might be better to focus our efforts on Mars expeditions, etc.
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