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Mary Ann Jackson stands beneath a massive replica of NASA's iconic space shuttle orbiter at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and fights back tears.

"It's just hard to believe this is all coming to an end," says Jackson, a field systems specialist and member of Cocoa Beach, Fla., Local 2088. "We're not sure what happens now."

It's an uncertain time for Jackson—who spent the last 26 years working on the space center's communications systems—and for the hundreds of other IBEW members who dedicate their lives and careers to getting space shuttles off the ground, into orbit, then back home to Earth again.

"There are so many people's lives affected by all this," she says. Her husband Denis is an IBEW shop steward with 17 years of service at the space center. "It's sad to think we might not have jobs soon, and tough to deal with where our work is going."

NASA is scheduled to retire the shuttle fleet by the end of this year. With just five missions left, human space flight—once one of America's most prestigious home-grown industries—is about to move overseas. By late 2010, U.S. astronauts headed into orbit will have just one surefire way to get there—aboard Russian-made, Russian-launched and Russian-controlled rockets.

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November 2009


Member's 'China Journey' Wins Accolades