The Space Shuttle Atlantis, the last of its kind, lifted off at 11:29 a.m. Friday, carrying the red, white and blue U.S. flag and human beings together into orbit for the shuttle program’s final mission.

The program for many years carried the cachet of both American technological superiority and the courage and sacrifice of our astronauts. But when Americans next take a turn on the International Space Station, they will get there on a rocket launched from foreign soil and bearing the white, blue and red flag of the Russian Federation.

However, the Russians may not remain the only space-going nation for long — the Chinese have an active manned space program in development and even have a long-range goal of reaching the moon.

But that doesn’t mean the United States should be spending hundreds of billions of dollars right now to replace the shuttle with a new surface-to-orbit spacecraft. The shuttle program is being shut down because the vehicles, based on designs created nearly four decades ago, have reached the end of their useful lives.

While more efficient types of reusable spacecraft are on the drawing boards, it’s time for the American space program to take a bit of a breather. Waiting in the wings are some private companies planning within a very short time to begin suborbital missions for tourists paying solid cash for the trip.

Other ships are being readied to carry cargos into orbit for pay, whether from private or public funds. As some analysts have suggested, NASA now should be an idea- and technology-development agency, aiding those with the will to make progress but who lack the resources to realize their dreams.

Scientific missions for now can be carried out by robots, while we wait to see what flag — or corporate logo — will be emblazoned on the ship carrying future U.S. astronauts aloft.

 

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