There could be a song in that... I am easily old enough to remember the first men stepping on to the surface of the moon so I have observed the entire span of manned space flight. Back in 1969 I recall shouting from my bedroom window that men were on the moon as the news arrived (no-one would have heard because we lived in the wilderness); I was that excited by the whole thing. Over time though we got used to the immense technological achievements that have driven spaceflight and apart from the spectacular and tragic accidents I have paid little heed to them.
Today as I watched the shuttle Atlantis land for the last time, no doubt to become a lifeless museum piece somewhere, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of regret that we are apparently turning our backs on one of our most courageous and might I say noble achievements of exploration. As we allow the momentum of the last 50 years to dissipate in this way, it is in the certain knowledge that it will not be the nations of the west who spin it back up again next time.
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