AirSpaceMag.com

At 79, John Johnson might be the most senior person at KSC. He volunteers as a tour guide and has escorted presidents and other luminaries. Johnson had been deputy commander of the cape’s Patrick Air Force Base. “A lot of people don’t realize that there have been more than 5,000 [launches] from the Air Force side since 1951,” he says. Johnson doesn’t mince words about the end of the shuttle era. “NASA’s biggest mistake was not starting 20 years ago planning what would come next. Now the Russians are doubling the price of a Soyuz ride.” He adds, “The other area where NASA blew it was letting the general public become indifferent towards our accomplishments. Ask 100 people how many men walked on the moon and 99 will get it wrong.” He doesn’t see that apathy changing in the years ahead. “I don’t believe these small commercial outfits, each focused on a specific rocket, are going to accomplish much,” Johnson says. “It’s like going back to the Mercury days.”

David Burnett/Contact Press Images

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Photos from: "Throttle Down" »