I was a kid when the Shuttle program started. I actually got to see one of them on the back of the special 747  they used to transport the Shuttles from where they landed back to where they launched. I was glued to my TV when the Challenger exploded, and I also watched the spectacular destruction of Columbia. Terrible tragedies.

Between April 12 1981 and July 8th 2011 there were 135 shuttle launches.

It’s very sad. The end of an era. I can now cross something off my bucket list…never did get to see a Shuttle launch (in person). Weird that the same week the Shuttle Atlantis was on its last mission I saw this in a client’s back yard. I had to take a picture of it.