The end of the flight

After searching online for a good article to read, I decided to write about and found something that actually hit me today. I have watched the space shuttle go off since I was a little kid, living in a small town with nothing to it's name but our space program. Today, the last flight landed.
In the article, the writer talked about how people from all over have come for years just to see the spacecraft launch. I never realized just how lucky I have been to watch it from my own front yard! The people who have been involved with NASA are feeling the bittersweet reality as the space program is put on hold for a future mission to Mars.
America is a place of dreams and hope, we take for granted what we have. That man could even achieve missions to space is unbelievable. Now, we continue moving forward and work even harder to reach farther places. Though this is the end of the shuttle, it isn't the conclusion of man's desire to learn about our universe.
In this particular article, I see the writers use of comparison and contrast as well as her intent to show how long the space program has lived and how things will change when it ends.