Space Shuttle Legacy

FILE – TO GO WITH TRANSBORDADOR ESPACIAL LEGADO – This Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 picture made available by NASA shows the space shuttle Endeavour docked to the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. The space shuttle was sold to America as cheap, safe and reliable. It was none of those. It cost tens of billions of dollars, ended the lives of 14 astronauts and managed to make fewer half the flights promised. Yet despite all that, there were monumental achievements that in the beginning were unforeseen: major scientific advances, stunning photos of the cosmos, a high-flying vehicle of diplomacy that helped bring Cold War enemies closer, and something to brag about. (AP Photo/NASA/file)