AIAA: End of Shuttle Not End of US Aerospace Leadership

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) issued a statement following the final launch of the space shuttle program asserting that it did not signal the end of NASA or the end of U.S. aerospace leadership.

The statement from AIAA’s Public Policy Committee says in part:

“The launch of space shuttle Atlantis on 8 July closes an important epoch in American science, but does not signal the end of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]. Nor, does the launch of Atlantis signal the end of American leadership in aerospace. Today, the United States is better positioned to continue leading the world in space exploration, understanding our planet’s environment, and making discoveries which benefit all of humankind. Just as in aviation, where in one hundred years we have seen the creation of hundreds of thousands jobs in small and large businesses across America selling products globally, in the next fifty years we will see the same in the field of space exploration.”

AIAA Executive Director Bob Dickman acknowledged in a separate statement that the Atlantis launch evokes “mixed feelings,” but that “we recognize the promise of a bright future in which industry and commerce will play a greater role as we work together to build on the shuttle’s legacy engineering and science achievements.”