Washington (CNN) - Half of all Americans say that the end of the space shuttle program is bad for the country, according to a new national survey released as the last shuttle mission came to a close.
And a CNN/ORC International Poll also indicates that most of the public wants to U.S. to develop a new spacecraft that will send astronauts into space, but a majority say they would prefer that private enterprise rather than a government program achieve that goal.
The survey's release came just a few hours after the shuttle Atlantis glided back to Earth early Thursday - capping a 30-year program that saw hundreds of astronauts go into space. The landing at 5:57 a.m. ET went off without a hitch at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
