The space shuttle has now made its last flight, even though a replacement vehicle has not been built. Much like a 24-hour Amtrak layover, the government doesn’t see a reason to provide alternative transportation in the interim. Although I highly approve of the government trying to inspire private space vehicles, I wonder about the current wisdom of placing U.S. astronauts aboard failure-prone Russian Soyuz rockets until then. To me, that seems about as safe as driving a Yugo in a NASCAR race.
