in washington, i'm samantha hayes. >> again, the breaking news, former first lady betty ford has diedears old. now "beyond atlantis: the next frontier. here in the middle of nowhere, under a high blue sky, is space port america. >> i always say it is where old frontier meets the new frontier. >> chris anderson is executive director of the new mexico space port. to build the world's first commercial space port nestled between the san andreas and the caballos mountains, taxpayers anted up $207 million. a leap of faith. >> well, there's always risk in great opportunity. so there is a risk, but i see more opportunity out there. i think, again, the time is right for commercial space. >> the centerpiece is the terminal hangar facility. the anchor tenant -- branson's virgin galactic company. the hangar will be home to virgin's mother ships and spaceships. a year and a half from now, if all the test flights go well, a mother ship will take off down this runway, climb to 50,000 feet and release a space plane tucked beneath it. the six civilian astronauts and two pilots will climb to 350,000 fe

samantha hayes has a look back at betty ford's remarkable life. >> reporter: betty ford's life in the political spotlight started quickly after her marriage to gerald ford, who was elected to congress two weeks after their wedding. as first lady, she developed her own persona beyond the white house and was known for speaking out on abortion rights and women in the workplace. also the mother of four children, she was considered strong, active, and most of all candid. >> it has been my own health that has made it possible for me to go ahead and in my way share what i learned with others. >> reporter: before 1974 it was almost unheard of for a first lady to publicly mention personal problems. in the first year of her husband's presidency. she announced she had breast cancer and would undergo a mastectomy. but it is the betty ford center for substance abuse that will be her greatest legacy. >> i think she educated a generation that needed education, that needed support in how to deal with these problems. >> reporter: mrs. ford disclosed publicly that she had for years abused alcohol anded

samantha hayes has a look back at betty ford's remarkable life. >> reporter: betty ford's life in the political spotlight started quickly after her marriage to gerald ford, who was elected to congress two weeks after their wedding. as first lady, she developed her own persona beyond the white house and was known for speaking out on abortion rights and women in the workplace. also the mother of four children, she was considered strong, active, and most of all candid. >> it has been my own health that has made it possible for me to go ahead and in my way share what i learned with others. >> reporter: before 1974 it was almost unheard of for a first lady to publicly mention personal problems. in the first year of her husband's presidency. she announced she had breast cancer and would undergo a mastectomy. but it is the betty ford center for substance abuse that will be her greatest legacy. >> i think she educated a generation that needed education, that needed support in how to deal with these problems. >> reporter: mrs. ford disclosed publicly that she had for years abused alcohol anded

samantha hayes has a look back at betty ford's remarkable life. >> reporter: betty ford's life the space shuttle atlantis blasted off for the very last time and roared into space. >> liftoff. the final liftoff of atlantis on the shoulders of the space shuttle america will continue the dream. >> atlantis will rendezvous with an international space station and bring a year's worth of supplies to the six crew members currently aboard before returning to earth to officially mark the end of the program. so after 30 years, why is the space shuttle program coming to an end? what will nasa ace next great adventure be and could commercial space travel be on the horizon? here's a special report from cnn's john zerella, "beyond atlantis: the last frontier". >>> main engine start. >> shuttle has cleared the tower. >> the spacecraft that launches like a rocket and lands like a plane. >> touchdown. >> the beginning of a remarkable era. >> what we did in shuttle over 30 years dwarfed what was done in the apollo era. >> but 135 missions later, the space shuttle program is being eliminated. what's next f