132 Space Shuttle Launches In 132 Seconds

Later today the Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to make its final launch before the shuttle program is mothballed by NASA. In honor of that historic event, CNN.com has put together his great video which shows all 132 shuttle launches in just 132 seconds. You can also read their story on the event by clicking here.

The space shuttle has been a pivotal part of space exploration not just for the U.S., but for the entire world, for years, and I'm a bit sad to see it come to an end. NASA is busy working on a replacement program, but in these tough economic times it is a difficult sell to say the least. A new shuttle will probably cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars at the very least, and at this point it is years from becoming a reality. While the International Space Station will continue to serve as a platform for research going forward, I can't help but think that we have taken a step back in this area simply by not having a replacement for the shuttle already in the pipeline. Lets hope it isn't too long before we get back to reaching for the stars. After all, there is an awful lot of stuff out there that we don't know about, and I for one believe that we can understand a lot more about ourselves by learning more about the Universe around us.