Today marks the last shuttle flight for NASA. 135 missions is a lot, but nowhere near the 50 a year promise NASA made at the start of the program.
What’s really intriguing is NASA’s reliance on outside parties. If Atlantis‘ crew runs into trouble, the Russian space agency is on call to send a rescue mission. The climate of the Space Race has definitely changed since the 1960s.
Also, the International Space Station will now be resupplied by private contractors. Could we see a space monopoly coming in the future?
