doubts that we did it, and the man who did it was alan shepard , jr.today, and you were an eyewitness. your correspondent, walter cronkite. >> pelley: and history was made today exactly 50 years and nine weeks after shepard's flight. the shuttle program ends with no clear successor. >> liftoff! >> pelley: the shuttle had its critics, it was expensive, there were astronauts. but there was nothing like it in the world. americans conceived it. when tragedy struck, americans pressed ahead without fire. to a generation, man in space seemed as american as the constellation in our flag. but today marked the end of the heroic age of space flight when we all claimed ownership. the last shuttle left the earth, drawing a bright, burning line in the sky, the signature of people who dare to dream. and that's the "cbs evening "cbg news." i'm scott pelley at the kennedy space center. for all of us as cbs news all around the world, good night.

it is a vp of the allen church -- alan shepard first flight into space. someone goes into space and gets to you view our planet from an incredible vantage point. i think that is around the corner. not that many years away, if not a couple of years. >> considerable -- what is the future of the astronaut corps and how to you motivate and retain those attracted to it? >> i do not have a problem attracting people to the astronaut -- astronaut corps. i have a problem selecting out of the thousands that apply. america is the leading nation in terms of exploration and that attracts the young men and women. they see there is a real possibility to go to space, because we are not leaving space. there are opportunities to fly into space as soon as they have the opportunity. we will get them there. even more people can have the opportunity to venture into space. we are attracting young people to follow in my footsteps. >> make a statement. >> mark kelly needs no introduction. he has become quite a figure. he decided he would split his time. he is an incredible husban

it is a repeat of the alan shepard first flight into space. one goes into space and then comes back, gets to view the planet from an incredible vantage point that many people, to this date, have not had an opportunity to do. i think that is around the corner. not that many years away, if not within a couple of years. >> considering a number of expeditions to the international space station, what is the future of the astronaut corps, and how the retain and attract those that are interested? >> the good news is, i do not have a problem attracting people to the astronaut corps. i have a problem selecting from the thousand that apply. the fact that america is the leading nation in terms of exploration attractive young men and women, the fact that they can see there is a real possibility that they can go to space very soon because we are not leaving space, and we are going to be occupying the international space station until at least 2020, if not beyond. they see there are opportunities to fly into space. there is no cap. we will get them there. t

>> from the 166 launches of course, the very first one with alan shepard and the first one with john glenn going go orbit and we'll never forget neil armstrong stepping on to the moon. those were very memorable as was the greatest time for nasa when they saved the apollo 13 flight. and shuttle challenger stands out. that's a time of recovery and of course columbia. but what shuttle did most, andrea, it built an international space station which is the brightest object in the sky next to the moon in the early evening and early mornings. it's up there and the human race is learning how to live in space. that's the principal gift of shuttle to the space program and to the planet. >> jay-brie, unique sense of history from you. i of course the challenger and columbia. i'll never forget as a little girl, godspeed john glenn. and godspeed jay barbrie. >> thank you so much. >> next hour, tamron hall broadcasting live from kennedy space center for a special edition of "news nation." among her guests bill nelson. and how does this morning's dismal job report change the debt ceiling negotiation

"mercury" started 50 years ago with the launch of alan shepard.hat, they were putting up satellites, of course. the first one went up in '57, that was sputnik by the soviet union. finally america got a satellite in space 31st of january 1958. a couple months later i came here and was fortunate to get a job with a great company like nbc news and so i've been here ever since and i've been fortunate to not being sick during one of the astronaut launches. today was number 166. frankly, it will be at least four years before we have another space launch from cape canaveral with astronauts, possibly five. i hope to be here for number 167, matt. >> we hope so, too, jay. thanks for all your years of bringing this to the country and to nbc's and msnbc's viewers. >>> coming up, license to thrill. we're talking to the author behind the latest book in the bond franchise and finding out what the world's most famous spy is drinking these days. here's a hint. it's not shaken or stirred. ♪ [ female announcer ] something unexpected to the world of multigrain... tas

that would have an opportunity to launch and in fact it is a repeat of the alan shepard first flight into space. it is a sub-orbital mission where you go into space and you the planet from an incredible that this point that many people to this date have not had an opportunity to do. i think that is around a quarter. and i mean not that -- not that many years away with -- if not a couple of years or so. >> considering the number of expeditions to the international space station each year, how to attract, motivate, and retain people motivated to it? >> i have no problem attracting people to the astronaut corps. i have of problem ordering the mall often selecting out of the thousands that applied. the fact that america is the leading nation in terms of exploration attracts young men and women. the fact that they can see that there is a real possibility to go to space very soon because we are not leading space. we're going to be occupying the international space station until 2020 if not beyond. they see their opportunities to fly in space as soon as they can get into the program and get

the early exploits of daniel boone, lewis and clark, and robert parry, to the break returns of alan shepard and john glenn, americans have always been a curious people. we're bold enough to imagine the world's, ingenious enough to chart a course to them, and courageous enough to go for it. the gifts of knowledge and innovation that we have brought back from the unknown have played their part and the building of a more perfect union. some say are final shuttle mission marked the end of america's 50-year dominance in human space flight. as a former astronaut and the current nasa administrator, i am here to tell you that american leadership in space will continue for at least the next half century because we have laid the foundation for success. for us at nasa, failure is not an option. we have the opportunity to raise the bar. we will demonstrate in human beings can do if we are challenged and inspired to reach for something just out of our grasp but not out of our sites. president obama has given us a mission to focus again on the big picture of the exploration and the crucial research and d

the early exploits of daniel boone, lewis and clark, and robert parry, to the break returns of alan shepard and john glenn, americans have always been a curious people. we're bold enough to imagine the world's, ingenious enough to chart a course to them, and courageous enough to go for it. the gifts of knowledge and innovation that we have brought back from the unknown have played their part and the building of a more perfect union. some say are final shuttle mission marked the end of america's 50-year dominance in human space flight. as a former astronaut and the current nasa administrator, i am here to tell you that american leadership in space will continue for at least the next half century because we have laid the foundation for success. for us at nasa, failure is not an option. we have the opportunity to raise the bar. we will demonstrate in human beings can do if we are challenged and inspired to reach for something just out of our grasp but not out of our sites. president obama has given us a mission to focus again on the big picture of the exploration and the crucial research and d

shepard smith. thank you for like, i don't know, everything. >> "the o'reilly factor" is on. tonight. >> i think that i do have the right to stand up and defend my honor. >> congressman alan wes says he will not apologize to debbie wasserman shoults for calling her the most vial member of congress. we will hear what mr. wes has to say. >> chris brown beat his girlfriend >> he uses the "n" word, the c word, the f word, yet, he is treated like royalty? >> bill: big name rammers are after laura ingraham for criticizing them. miss laura will tell us if she is upset by that she is very upset that a baggage handler stole some of her stuff. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. ♪ happy birthday mr. president. >> bill: also ahead, the great american news quiz, the corruption edition. how much do you know about abysmal behavior? >> it depends upon what the meaning of the word is is. >> bill: caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone. the factor begins right now. captions by closed captioning services >> bill: hi, i'm bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. is the tea party self-destructive? that is the subject of this evening's talking points memo.