Mark Kelly & the Final Shuttle Mission - Love the Star Trek Poster from NASA

[RamboLiberal]

Like a lot of Americans I wouldn't be paying that much attention (well except for it being the final mission) if it hadn't been for the tragic shooting.

In reading about Mark's decision today to fly the mission, I just saw the poster. That is so cool.......

[Ohio Joe]

1. heh, that is a very cool poster

I gotta see if they will be selling them :D

[Fumesucker]

2. Yeah, but it's a poster for the *end* of something, not the beginning..

I have this sinking feeling that this is the end of US manned space flight for a considerable time, possibly forever.

[Blue_Tires]

3. awesome...

[unblock]

4. that is WAY cool. they took the trouble to match up faces and expressions

too bad they couldn't find an uhura....

[AsahinaKimi]

5. I feel silly asking but

Why is this the last Shuttle mission? Has NASA decided to pull the plug on sending men into space? What ever happened to the dream of having a decent space station built in Earth's orbit?

[Trekologer]

6. The Space Shuttle is becoming too expensive to operate and maintain

The basic design is pushing 40 years old. It is just too bad that there isn't yet a replacement waiting to take over.

[bananas]

9. We're going to expand the ISS and go beyond earth orbit and to Mars

One goal is humans orbiting Mars around 2030.
The shuttle was an expensive way of getting up and down,
and it could only go to low earth orbit.
Space-X and others have rockets which can do that, so NASA will use their services.
Some people decided they didn't want to wait for NASA, so NASA will use them.
Bigelow has inflatable habitat modules which will be added to the ISS.
He's working on lunar and Mars habitats.
VASIMR plasma engines will be added to the ISS.
They can also be used for Mars missions.
NASA will build a heavy-lift rocket and develop other stuff needed to get to Mars.

[TommyO]

7. Great poster, thanks for sharing it with us. One small correction though, this is Endeavor's last

flight, the very last flight will be Atlantis and STS-135.

[RamboLiberal]

8. Thanks - shows how much this American has been paying attention

Not.

It is a shame that we don't have a new vehicle ready to continue taking us in to space.

[blondeatlast]

10. any idea where I can obtain this? My son would LOVE this. I looked on NASA site

and couldn't find this poster though there were others available.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Here:

http://sfa.nasa.gov/products.cfm

'hi res' is an 84M pdf file; 'lo res' a 152 kb one.

[RamboLiberal]

11. Check out the other cool posters they did here

http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10002908.html?tag=mncol

Another cool Mark Kelly there on previous mission.