By Michael Mroziak
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-976798.mp3
Buffalo – The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at Buffalo State College opened its doors to visitors who gathered to witness the final-ever space shuttle launch.
A few dozen guests inside the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at Buffalo State cheered when Atlantis roared off the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. One woman was even spotted gently weeping as images from NASA TV were projected on the dome above.
For those presenting the launch, it's a bittersweet day as the U.S. space program marks the end of an era. Planetarium director Kevin Williams recalled watching the first shuttle launch in 1981, when John Young and Robert Crippen took Columbia into space.
"The shuttle's been such a successful program," said Williams. "They've done great things with the (International) Space Station, also bringing up experiments, servicing the Hubble Space Telescope... it's sad but it's also making room for the next chapter in this country's exploration of space."
There is no immediate replacement for the shuttles in place. NASA continues to develop the Orion rocket but is at least two years away from a test flight. In the meantime NASA will work with the Russian space program to transport astronauts to and from space, until Orion is ready.
Williams sees the pros and cons of not having an immediate replacement in place, admitting the need for fiscal responsiblity. His planetarium colleague, senior presenter Tim Collins, made another point.
"Who would have thought 25 years ago we'd we working so closely with the Russians?" Collins asked. "It's kind of an amazing thing to think of, to see how far we've come since those early days."
While elected officials and bureaucrats haggle over funding and the future of the U.S. space program, all that mattered to guests inside Buffalo's Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium on this July morning was enjoying one last thrilling launch of a space shuttle.
WBFO's Michael Mroziak spoke with Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium director Kevin Williams and senior presenter Tim Collins prior to the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the final launch in the shuttle program. Click on the audio link to hear the interview.