Atlantis Glides Into The History Books
Greg Milam, US correspondent, in Florida
Blink and you would have missed it. Atlantis swept in silently and under the cover of darkness - ushering the shuttle programme into the history books.
Atlantis safely touched down bringing an end to the 30-year US shuttle programme
Nasa had resisted calls to delay the landing until daylight had arrived on Florida's 'space coast'.
Instead the sonic booms announced its imminent arrival at the Kennedy Space Centre.
A crowd of some 2000 family members, friends and employees, bussed out to the side of the runway, cheered and applauded as Atlantis flashed past.
The space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it's changed the way we view our universe. Space Shuttle Atlantis crew
When the wheels stopped, the space community and America in general began to reflect on the successes of the shuttle and where the country's space programme goes now.
Atlantis will take its place in a museum at the Kennedy Space Centre.
Its commander Chris Ferguson said: "I want that picture of a young 6-year-old boy looking up at a space shuttle in a museum and say, 'daddy I want to do something like that when I grow up' or 'I want our country to do fantastic things like this for the continued future' and if we set those steps right now and they continue with the next generation of space explorers than I consider our job here complete."
It may be a forlorn hope - America is ambitious about landing on Mars but budget constraints continue to cause concern that the country is falling behind in the space race.
With the shuttles retiring to museums, it will be another three to five years at best before Americans are launched again from US soil and private companies are gearing up to take over from Nasa.
Former astronaut Tom Jones told me it was 'embarrassing' that the US would have to rely on Russian rockets to get Americans into space.
But last-ditch appeals to keep shuttles flying, made by such legends as Neil Armstrong, fell on deaf ears.
An American flag that flew on the first shuttle flight and returned to orbit aboard Atlantis this time is now at the space station.
The first company to get astronauts there will claim the flag as a prize.
Amid the uncertainty though, for today at least, pride was the over-riding emotion.
"Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, and our ship Atlantis, thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end," said the crew.
"The space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it's changed the way we view our universe."
:: Atlantis has safely touched down in Florida, bringing America's space shuttle programme to an end after 30 years.
Space Shuttle Atlantis has completed its last journey with a landing at , located in Florida, United States. Two thousand employees, including employees, families and friends, witnessed the landing of Atlantis at 0557  (0957 ) yesterday. This landing has brought mission  to a close, as well as the  from NASA. The program, which experienced a total of one hundred and thirty-five missions, had been in operation for thirty years, since 1981.

During the landing, , the flight's commander, commented that "the space shuttle changed the way we view the world and it changed the way we view the universe". Citing "a lot of emotion" in relation to this landing, Ferguson clarified that "one thing's indisputable: America's not going to stop exploring".

Amongst the aftermath of the landing,   produced a speech while standing in front of the spacecraft and its crew and spoke of "the rare opportunity to witness history". Atlantis launched for the final time on July 8 this year. Bolden commented: "This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today we recommit ourselves to continuing human spaceflight and taking the necessary and difficult steps to ensure America's leadership in human spaceflight for years to come."

The  gave the order to abandon the program, partially attributing their cancellation to the expense of vehicle maintenance. Due to the program's conclusion, in excess of three thousand space shuttle operation contributions are now anticipated to lose their occupations. Bolden spoke of how grateful NASA were to the "thousands, literally tens of thousands, of folks all around the country who made all this possible". There is now no way for individuals to travel into space from the United States. To do this, NASA will utilise the services of the Russian spacecraft .