Come on, STOP the gloom

I viewed some 50 cartoons about the end of the space shuttle program and NASA's [the United States' future in space discovery] role down the road and every one of them was doom and gloom with a misplaced sense of nostalgia. Where is it written that the United States must be the premier player in understanding the universe. Certainly the program was spectacular but it was also costly and dangerous and yielding little return for the amount invested. Plus, the crafts were getting old with no new propulsion system on hand. NASA is not dead and must learn to work with other countries and private contractors. The Buck Roger era over, for now, and time for hard science to move towards the future of space exploration as a global experience.