I was in the head of the physics departments office at my college when the news came out that Challenger exploded.  I was in shock for days......  Mainly because I started on a Physics degree to get a job at NASA.  (Which I later turned down....  Mainly due to the way that NASA is run.)

Well, Obama decided to cancel the maned space program for what ever reason he thought right.  I will say I do not agree with that, but it is really just me against a very large gov.  I don't think that the money is wasted at all.

Elm City:  If you look at the budget in the U.S. gov.  You will find out that the space program was a drop in the bucket compared to other things that they spend money on.  The problem is it is high profile.  So when you cut that budget, every one sees it.  But if you made cuts in other areas, no one cares.  So the space program is one of the things that they go after. 

NASA can blame themselves for this one.  I am not going to go into the details, that is not for this site, nor this thread.  I am just sad to see the end of this era.   :'(

John