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I was a little child and didn’t understand man’s
quest for space when our school Principal, Mr
Paul, had told a special congregation about the
launch of the Russian Sputnik in the 1950s. That
was indeed the seed of man’s dream for the skies,
and half a century later, the Shuttle is a programme
which is about to end after several glorious missions
over 30 years.
Atlantis lifted off from its launch pad, perfectly
as scheduled months before, with Mission Commander
US Navy  Captain
Ken Ham and five other astronauts, safely maneuvering
the spacecraft for a rendezvous with the International
Space Station (ISS) set for May 16.
There was clapping all round, reverberating from
the time the astronauts boarded their bus to cover
the five-km journey from the Mission Control to
the launch pad. The terminal countdown was on,
and so were the system checks. If people were
happy with anticipation, there was also anxiety.
The space programme has been a tremendous success,
but there have been some tragic costs, including
the lives of the magnificent men and women who
dared to literally dream the highest.
The space shuttles have been built by Boeing,
the $ 68-billion civil and military aerospace
company which flew in half a dozen journalists
from India, and possibly some from other countries,
to witness the event.
I watched Boeing’s PR lady attached with the
Indian media team, Susan Wells, fold her hands,
and then mine, to pray for the safety of the astronauts
and the success of the mission. We all did so
actually, whether or not one folded his or her
hands.
Col Michael J Bloomfield a former shuttle astronaut,
told this writer that although the space programme
was largely that of the US and a few other countries,
in spirit its benefits belonged to the whole mankind.
Kevin Hoshstrasser, Boeing’s Site Director,
told us: You do not see a shuttle launch, you
feel it.
Absolutely true.
Atlantis roared to life with its massive cryogenic
engines and boosters, ignited by Mission Control,
and rocketed out of sight within seconds. The
grey and white smoke lasted for a couple of hours
though in the otherwise clear sky. About 300,000
persons watched the launch, descending from all
over the US and other countries.
Traffic to the site was managed well and US Navy
ships had a ring around the Cape in the Atlantic
Ocean while USAF F-15 Eagles, also built by Boeing,
flew in Combat Air Patrol (CAP) to secure the
area. Armed helicopters secured the periphery
of the launch as also the road to the launch pad.
 NASA,
or National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
which visualizes and manages the US Space programme
and its coordination with Russia and other space
faring nations and entities, was welcoming and
helpful in giving details of its programmes.
The end of the Space Shuttle programme though,
after two more missions due later this year, has
left Boeing wondering about its next project from
NASA.
The Obama administration has decided to wind
up the space shuttle programme that began with
Columbia making its maiden voyage in April 1981.
The idea now is to use cheaper Russian vehicles
for servicing the ISS and then go in for different
and newer vehicles with longer reach.
Astronauts would travel in space capsules on
more powerful rockets, possibly look-alikes of
those pioneered decades back but much different
in size and capabilities to enable longer travel
in the unknown depths of space.
As for the Atlantis, its mission designated STS-132,
was the last one. But it is not be sent to the
museum just in case something goes wrong with
the other two vehicles, and it has to be used
either as a rescue vehicle or to ferry the muchneeded
supplies to the ISS.
 Space
Shuttle Discovery is due to lift off on September
16, and Space Shuttle Endeavour, which will conduct
the last mission of the programme, mid-November.
The date for that is yet to be fixed.
Atlantis went through its 12- day programme in
space perfectly, delivering six powerful batteries,
a Russian-built Mini Research Module (MRM) for
extra docking space and some scientific payload
for the ISS and Russian Soyuz spacecraft. There
were space walks to secure the Kuband antenna
and spare parts for the Canadian Dextre robotic
arm.
Dr Julie Robinson, Chief Scientist for the International
Space Station program at NASA, told Indian journalists
that there were several scientific missions on
board the ISS, and that they would continue irrespective
of the end of the shuttle programme.
The programme includes research on salmonella
bacteria, Methicillinresistant Staphlococcus Aureus
(MRSA) bacteria found particularly in hospitals,
and the oil-producing plant jatropha to improve
its yield.
Research on MRSA is important. It is rampant
in hospitals, causing deadly infections. The bacteria
is resistant to antibiotics, and kills about 90,000
persons in the US alone. It kills many more in
other countries, particularly where hospital hygiene
is poor.
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