One Small Step Backwards

Today was the last launch to the soon to be retired Space Shuttle.



It is hard to imagine that when John F. Kennedy set the goal of going to the moon on September 12, 1962 that we would be there in under 10 years.



The computer technology that powered the first rockets that went to the moon is outmatched by the common smart phones of today. Even the Space Shuttles have less computing power than the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3. We now have more powerful technology in our households than they do on the Shuttles.

It is a sad day as the Space Shuttles get retired, but presumably the private sector will take up the slack and begin sending people back into space. Companies like http://www.spacex.com who are working with NASA to develop rockets and capsules to continue to take people and satellites into space.

Only the future will tell whether or not we go back to the Moon, or to Mars. I imagine we will know soon enough.