Friday, September 21, 2012

Farewell Flyover

Foster City at 10:40 a.m.
Joining thousands of other Bay Area residents this morning, I spent a few moments gazing upward. The Shuttle Endeavour circled over the Golden Gate and headed south on its final voyage to the LA Science Center.

Like other farewell tours, the flyover was a tribute to past glory, not the promise of future greatness. What we said about the passing of Neil Armstrong last month applies equally to the cessation of American manned space travel:
The accomplishments of Neal Armstrong and the other Apollo astronauts grow more astonishing as their deeds fade in time, and sometimes I wonder what happened to the civilization that produced them. R.I.P.


Chronicle photo

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