THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Today, the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis, marks the last chapter for manned space flight by United States.  Once on the bleeding edge, this country has lost it's mojo by a series of inept leadership that has sabotaged the  long range goals of NASA.  Albeit, robotic missions are still alive and well, but there is no substitute for the human touch, as the astronauts are the vanguard of the human race's pushing the envelope of exploration.  However, there is hope other nations will pick up the ball and soldier on.