NASA plans to retire the shuttle fleet, bringing US manned space flight to an end, for the forseeable future.

VOA: standard.2010.04.15

SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan, who is beginning work on Virgin's space fleet, has promised to ride along with Branson on the first flight.

MSN: ��Star Trek�� captain signs up for space

Tuesday's launch marks the culmination of six years of preparation to bring commercial flights to the space station following the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet last year.

CNN: Historic launch of private rocket heralds new era

While Curiosity's landing is bound to burnish NASA's image and improve its employee morale, the mission may provide only a temporary political boost for an agency that has struggled to chart a new course amid spending constraints, persistent legislative fights and last year's retirement of the space shuttle fleet.

WSJ: NASA's Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars