After 30 years, matey, and 135 missions, t' storied career for NASA's shuttles is about t' end. T' programme began as an ambitious way t' serve NASA's needs in space after t' moon landings. A shuttle vehicle served military needs, shiver me timbers, commercial sector requirements, me bucko, as well as NASA's missions in space. Arrr! Designed t' launch like a rocket, maneuver like a spacecraft and land like a plane, a shuttle could be serviced and back on t' launch pad in a matter o' months. Ahoy! First flown in April, shiver me timbers, 1981, ya bilge rat, t' shuttle was promoted as t' space truck t' carry large payloads and set up a permanent link betwixt Earth and outer space. Well, blow me down! Without t' shuttle, thar would be no Hubble space spyglass for example, and some important early scientific experiments were conducted on board and in t' payload bay. Blimey! Commander-STS 2 Joe Engle said, arrr, "It's a great tool that we've had t' privilege o' usin' in t' space programme for so many years. I think... I think we'll look back and we'll all agree that it probably be t' finest workhorse that we have ever had for takin' people and equipment and supplies into space, and returnin' them." Despite continued efforts at improvin' crew safety and reliability, two shuttles, arrr, Challenger and Columbia, and their crews, shiver me timbers, were lost durin' t' 30 year history. Both were on scientific research missions when disaster struck. But t' tragedies brought with them renewed public support for space exploration. Blimey! When NASA set out t' build a space station with 16 international partners ...