Yes, I have seen all the press releases too - your first post's wording made it sound like this flight was the last Shuttle mission and I was just pointing out this is not the last one. No offense.
As for Shuttle retirement - on paper per Bush's policies it is doomed. It probably will be extended for at least a few more flights though unless there is another major accident. My fiance and I both have been through a lot of meetings recently on budget, possible extensions for contracts we have for instruments, other missions, etc... (She is on the science team for one company - mostly Mars related stuff though and I have been working part time for another company mostly doing computer stuff and remote sensing instruments - though I have a new gig soon working on sensors in the field for another company that is more "terrestrial" in nature and doesn't involve the NASA politics)
Best thing that has happened for the whole space science community lately - Griffin's departure. We need to get the politics out of the science. Maybe get rid of some of the middle management that doesn't have a science or engineering background too. A prime example was one of the meetings I was in last month where I sat next to one of the middle management bean counters from NASA - most of the meeting he was on his laptop doing Facebook, ebay, news, looking for local places to eat, etc...
On another note - it looks like Spirit may be doomed. They haven't been able to get it to move for several days (the science instruments are still going though). If they can't fix it in the next week or so - they will have a press conference with the bad news. Letting the rovers die off would actually be good - the useful science coming from them lately is pretty minimal but they are a huge budget drain and that is affecting other projects and missions. They keep extending them for the PR value though - "Look! Still Going!"
They need to focus that energy on the MSL. It is suppose to be a flagship mission. That thing makes me nervous - far too big for airbags so they are going to drop it with a sky crane which has a lot of things that can go wrong. If you haven't seen it - here is the animation of how it should work if it ever gets finished and launched:
Mars Science Laboratory: Videos
Plus they figured out it's batteries and power supply aren't enough to keep it going so they are adding some solar panels and beefing up the power system. Oh - they just figured out the drive wheels may have some issues too, with the weight being put on them since they have added so much stuff on the rover. Kind of like taking a stock van and turning it into a fully furnished camper without beefing up the suspension.
Originally posted by Ira "The shuttle program is scheduled for mandatory retirement in 2010, in accord with the directives president George W. Bush issued in the Vision for Space Exploration. The shuttle's planned successor is Project Constellation with its Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion Spacecraft. NASA plans to launch 7 more shuttle missions before the program ceases.
"In an internal e-mail apparently sent August 18, 2008 to NASA managers and leaked to the press (published September 6, 2008 in the Orlando Sentinel), NASA Administrator Michael Griffin stated his belief that the current US [Bush] administration has made no viable plan for U.S. crews to participate in the International Space Station beyond 2011, and that OMB and OSTP are actually seeking its demise.
"The email appeared to suggest that Griffin believed the only reasonable solution was to extend the operation of the shuttle beyond 2010, but noted that Executive Policy (ie, the White House) is firm that there will be no extension of the shuttle retirement date, and thus no US capability to launch crews into orbit until the Ares I/Orion system becomes operational in 2014 at the very earliest."