it. that have been dealing with incredible high temperatures for so long. shepard: rick reichmuth live tonight midtown, manhattan. for the first time in decades the united states government no longer has the capability to lift humans from the american soil into space. because early this morning at the kennedy space center in florida, the last of the space e shuttle s atlantis returned home for the last time. landing gear down and locked. main gear touch down now deploying the drag chute. ferguson rotating the nose gear down to the deck. nose gear touched down. having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, it s place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls
florida, the last of the space e shuttle s atlantis returned home for the last time. landing gear down and locked. main gear touch down now deploying the drag chute. ferguson rotating the nose gear down to the deck. nose gear touched down. having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, it s place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. its voyage at an end. shepard: and hours after touchdown the astronauts of shuttle atlantis gathered neither runway in front of the spaceship that carried them home. consider many of the people who took part in this mission did so knowing that as of tomorrow they