Space travel and science fiction

Raphael's choice from the Guardian
On Tuesday March 11, the space shuttle “Endeavour” and seven astronauts were launched into orbit for the longest mission to the International Space Station, the ISS.
The shuttle took off from Florida with Canadian and Japanese astronauts among the crew, for a 16-day voyage, to build a robot and add a room that will serve as storage compartment for a future laboratory, called Kibo.

Another piece of space news : Europe's new orbital cargo ship has been launched from French Guiana on a mission to resupply the space station.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is the biggest and most complex spacecraft Europe has ever tried to put in orbit.

The ATV has been dubbed "Jules Verne" for its maiden flight and is even carrying a first-edition hardback of the 19th-Century French author's book From the Earth to the Moon. It will return on a space shuttle at a later date.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is the biggest and most complex spacecraft Europe has ever tried to put in orbit.
The ATV will now essentially be parked in space. It must wait until the US space shuttle Endeavour has completed its forthcoming mission to the ISS before moving in to make a docking.

The ship's own computers will be in charge of the approach, employing an advanced form of GPS and, in the latter stages, optical sensors to guide itself into the correct position on the end of the Russian Zvezda module.

Sadly, one of the greatest writers of science-fiction novels, Arthur Clark died on March 18th. He wrote that thought-provoking book called "2001, a space odyssey" made into a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1968. So many things happened 40 years ago!

What is the use of space missions or the ISS (international space station) in your opinion?