Lawmakers tweet end of the space era

Several politicians used Twitter to mark the landing of the last space shuttle on Thursday morning.

The shuttle Atlantis, NASA's 135th shuttle voyage, touched down at 5:57 a.m. EDT at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA @nasahqphoto tweeted a photo of the historic landing, saying, "Atlantis touches down at Kennedy Space Center Check it out!! http://flic.kr/p/a5FASB"

The White House tweeted congratulations, as did the vice president's office.

Several members of Congress took to the Twitterverse to express mixed emotions about the past and future of space exploration.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) tweeted: "Bittersweet moment: Last Space Shuttle Lands in Florida, Ending 30-Year NASA Program [5:57 a.m. ET]"

Cornyn also noted, "Texans should take pride in three decades' worth of accomplishments in the space program."

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a former astronaut, tweeted: "Welcome home #Atlantis. Though we’ll not again explore on a shuttle’s wings, we won’t stop reaching as long as there are stars." Nelson watched the final landing early this morning on TV at home in Virginia, according to his office.

Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) tweeted: "Glad space shuttle Atlantis has landed safely at Kennedy Space Ctr. 30 yrs of service to our nation and the planet."

Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) tweeted: "This morning marked the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis and the end to our nation’s last space shuttle mission.http://t.co/"

Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) tweeted: "Welcome home Atlantis! A perfect landing is a fitting end to the historic shuttle program."

Other members of Congress, including Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Reps. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) also noted the "end of an era" in their tweets.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) was more optimistic about his state's role in America's future in space:

Udall tweeted: "Final #NASA shuttle mission landed this morning, but #CO is well positioned to lead future space exploration. http://t.co/R"