One year ago: Dark day in history, last US manned space flight launches

While the launch--and the successful return--of a manned-spacecraft on is not bad news on the surface, today is the first anniversary of a dark day in American history. The final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis occurred on this date in 2011--and not only do we have no plans to launch astronauts into space from Cape Canaveral--but for the first time in over 50 years we have no spacecrafts for such missions.

President Obama's choice to run NASA, Charles Bolden, had this to say about the agency a year prior to the final Atlantis launch:

When I became the NASA Administrator — before I became the NASA Administrator — [Obama] charged me with three things: One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.

Anything missing?

Space exploration.

NASA has gone from putting men on the Moon to being an esteem coach. Tragic.

Russia now has a monopoly on manned space-flight. When we need to send astronauts into space, we have to get in touch with Obama's pal Vladimir Putin.

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Replicarz DRW56185 Space Shuttle Atlantis with Solid Rocket Booster