CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Thirty years of flight by NASA's
space shuttles will end once Atlantis returns home from this
last mission. The space agency will be looking to deeper space
exploration, but the future is still somewhat unclear. NASA is
looking to private companies to develop a new space vehicle and
it will be at least three years, maybe longer, before one is
ready. Some basics about the shuttle program and why it is
ending: Q: Why are the shuttles retiring? A: The shuttles are
aging and expensive and their chief task of building the
International Space Station is essentially done. Now NASA wants
to do something new. Q: Who decided to stop flying the shuttles?
A: President George W. Bush made the decision in 2004. He wanted
astronauts to go back to the moon, and eventually to Mars. But
President Barack Obama dropped the moon mission. His plan has
NASA building a giant rocket to send astronauts to an asteroid,
and eventually Mars, while turning over to private companies the
job of carrying cargo and