The space shuttle Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center this morning, marking the end of a successful chapter in the nation’s space program. I saw some interesting statistics from NASA on twitter this morning. This was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled nearly 126 million miles. It was also the 19th night landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a fitting end for the 135th and final space shuttle mission

The question still remains – what’s next?

John Cole, cartoonist for the Scranton Times-Tribune, thinks the U.S. is giving up more than the shuttle program…

Green Bay Press-Gazette cartoonist Joe Heller notes recent programs that are no longer flying…

According to David Fitzsimmons of the Arizona Daily Star, we’re planting a different kind of flag…

While Mike Keefe of the Denver Post has a novel idea how to use the retired shuttle fleet…

Nate Beeler of the Washington Examiner compares the Shuttle to other workhorses being mothballed…

Jimmy Margulies of The Record wonders what the future of U.S. manned spaceflight will be like…

While John Darkow of the Columbia Daily Tribune focuses on more immediate concerns…

RELATED: Check out our additional Space Shuttle cartoon collections!

Over a million people are expected to watch the space shuttle Atlantis launch on Friday, the final mission of NASA’s 30-year space shuttle program. Everyone wonders what will come next, even as lawmakers voted today to kill off funding for the successor to the vastly successful Hubble telescope.

What do cartoonists think about the end of the Space Shuttle program? Check out our Final Space Shuttle Mission cartoon slideshow to see for yourself.

 

The baby of the space shuttle fleet, the Endeavor, lifted off from Cape Canaveral for the last time, carrying a physics experiment and spare parts to the International Space Station. It’s under the command of Mark Kelly, husband to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was on site to cheer the launch on.

How do cartoonists feel about the looming end of the highly-successful space shuttle program? Check out our End of the Space Shuttle cartoon collection to find out.