{"product_id":"2940015972252","title":"Beyond the Stars \u0026#x2013;NASA\u0026#x2019;s 50 Years of Manned Space Flight -Part 12 - Epilogue \u0026 the Future","description":"The Space Shuttle was America’s most advanced form of human space transportation. There were 140 flights of the shuttles. Five were test flights of Enterprise and 135 missions flown by space shuttles launched between 1981 and 2011.\u003cbr\u003eFifty years of manned space flights accomplished many great things. Thousands of medical and scientific experiments including surgical and robotic surgery techniques were conducted in orbit. Shuttle crews also serviced and repaired satellites as needed, and particularly the Hubble Space Telescope.\u003cbr\u003eCurrently the US is dependent on  Russia to deliver its astronauts to the International Space Station. However, the first private entrepreneurial effort began on  Wednesday, December 8, 2010. Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft lifted off from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This was the first of several demonstration flights. SpaceX believes they can launch manned space flights by 2017.","brand":"Black Hawk Publishing Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47071058854128,"sku":"2940015972252","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940015972252_p0.jpg?v=1763626943","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015972252","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}