Farewell shuttle flight resonates in South Louisiana: An editorial

The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center today and fly into history as the orbiter begins its final mission.

shuttle-atlantis-launch.jpgThe space shuttle Atlantis in place for launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in May 1997.

For 30 years, the shuttle fleet has been the workhorse of the space program, carrying out missions that ranged from launching and retrieving satellites to repairing the Hubble space telescope and building the International Space Station. Its final task is a prosaic one: Atlantis and its four-person crew will be carrying supplies and equipment to stock the space station for the post-shuttle era.

The grounding of the shuttle fleet is a poignant moment for metro New Orleans, which has played a significant role in the program. The huge external tanks that send the shuttles into orbit were manufactured by Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Assembly Facility, an enterprise that employed 5,591 people at its peak in 1983.

Slidell also has strong ties to the shuttle program. It was home to a computer complex that supported Michoud and the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, where the shuttle main engines were tested. Many who worked at those sites made their homes in St. Tammany Parish.

The future of the space program, and the role that metro New Orleans might play in it, remains a question. But the shuttle has earned its place in the history of human space exploration, and so have the men and women from our area who were a part of it.