San Jose Mercury News: "With the space shuttle's retirement Thursday, no longer will flying people and cargo up to the International Space Station be a government program where costs balloon. NASA is turning to private industry with fixed prices, contracts and profit margins. The space agency will be the customer, not the boss."
Don't know how you feel about the shuttle getting scuttled, but it seems like farming out space travel to private companies just doesn't seem right. What about the pride in seeing USA slapped on the side of the moon shots some 40 years ago? That iconic image is known throughout the world and it was a tool in our (cold) war against the Soviets. Now with the likes of China and Iran entering the space age, seems like the United States is bowing out. Not only can we not go to the moon, but now we can't even put someone in low earth orbit. Where are we going? Looks like nowhere.
