To the editor:
    
There is an irony that should not be overlooked surrounding the timing of the shuttle programs conclusion and the approaching deadline for the raising of the debt ceiling. 
    
Initially, the former epitomized the United States in its prime, the culmination and realization of the challenge and optimism of the 1960s and America soaring high. The programs termination is indicative of our countrys diminishing place in the world something a few all-nighters on the Hill over the next few weeks will not repair. All of us, not only space junkies and affected federal employees and contractors, should mourn.