VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE – It was a rare moment for the men and women who worked on the space shuttle program at Vandenberg Air Force Base to help close the book on its brief but rich history.
Watching shuttle Endeavor make its final leg of its flight into the history books was a special moment for the men and women who came to watch the flyover at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
"I worked on the shuttle program here as an electrical technician and then later I went to Florida, I worked on three shuttles there", says Edward Patrick who adds the Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 effectively pulled the plug on the shuttle program at Vandenberg delivering a heavy blow to the local economy.
"Oh yeah it was, there were thousands of people working for the shuttle program and most of them got laid off", Patrick says.
"It was a boomtown at one point", adds retired USAF Lt. Col. Paul Graybill, "its just a shame things turned out the way they did."
Graybill was also stationed at Vandenberg AFB during the start of the shuttle program and witnessed the Challenger disaster in Florida, and saw what happened to the base and the economy in the surrounding communities.
"It was devastating, it really put the program back, a long, long way", Graybill says.
"Not only the base but the community", says retired USAF Master Sgt. Lee Wise who was also stationed at VAFB during the shuttle program, "they built up a lot of hotels and so forth and was expecting a group of people to come in and support the community and the program."
With the shuttle program flying off into the history books, those who can remember when are left to wonder what might have been.
"Well yeah, because there were so many jobs gone and now they are launching our person from Russia, who knows?" adds Edward Patrick.
These former shuttle workers hope NASA and the Air Force can resume a manned space project soon to replace the shuttle program and preserve America's dominance in total space exploration.
