Last flight of OV-103

The space shuttle Discovery, OV-103, has made its last scheduled trip to the launch pad down in Florida. The mission is STS-133, delivering a logistics module named Leonardo and other spare parts, and launch is targeted for the first of November. After this mission is only one more scheduled mission, STS-134 aboard Endeavor. Atlantis has already been retired. Discovery will remain on standby until Endeavor’s landing, in case an emergency launch is needed or an additional mission is approved.

I might rant about the space program sometime soon, but in the meantime watch this series of youtube videos. In my opinion, it describes our best shot at Mars, and the best thing is the technology exists, it’s safe, simple, and elegant, and we can be there within a decade.