NASA has two final shuttle missions scheduled and is hoping for final funding approval from Congress for one extra flight, before retiring its three orbiters in 2011.

NASA还有计划好的最后两项航天飞行任务，并希望国会通过其经费申请，在2011年“星河舰队”退休前再多进行一次飞行。

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With NASA bracing for the looming retirement of the shuttle fleet after a final three missions, Atlantis roared to life and rocketed away from its seaside pad at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time.

随着NASA宣告航天飞机机队将在执行完最后三次飞行任务后退役，亚特兰蒂斯号于东部时间下午两点二十分在发动机的轰鸣声中拔地而起，飞离濒海发射台。

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America knowingly signed on for the spaceflight "gap, " which opened after space shuttles flew their final missions this year.

CNN: Make China our new partner in space

Oh, how the times have changed... its final mission saw Atlantis successfully deliver the Russian Mini-Research Module Rassvet to the ISS. She'll be prepped one last time to stand-by as a rescue ship for the upcoming (and final) missions of Endeavor and Discovery, but Atlantis' days in space are likely over.

ENGADGET: Space Shuttle Atlantis ends its run of predicting disaster for other NASA shuttles

The U.S. perfect it with putting a man on the man, then with a series of modern high tech space shuttle missions and Mars ROVERS. But now, the final frontier captains are more likely to be Russians, with their hopes for a human Mars landing someday, or Chinese, with a new China space station due within the next 8 years.

FORBES: China's Space Age Grows Up As U.S. Space Race Winds Down