Why is the Space Shuttle being retired?

[Stranger in a strange land]

It's a waste of money. Regarding the inspiration to schoolchildren argument, I doubt most kids nowadays even know what the space shuttle does, sadly enough. We need to put the money towards research and development, wait for the technology to mature, and then build something better.

And anyways, what's the value of human spaceflight at the present time, other than prestige? We know we an do it. Colonizing other worlds is a long way off, and most of the exploration we need to do in the meantime can be done by unmanned craft, which don't need to be fed or brought home.