The Midnight Rambler // Alfred Spellman

Over the years, the shuttle has not just brought dollars to Brevard County—or to the rest of the US for that matter—but a unifying statement of daring and of America’s capacity to do what no other country can do. “Whenever we launch, it is an act of courage. It is an act of risk taking,” John Shannon, the director of the programme, told me. “Even though we are reminded after Challenger and Columbia that this is a risky business, we still choose to do that.”