I can say, proudly, that I was there to see the last launch.
I can also say, with some authority, that NASA is not dead.
My uncle, whom I am staying with right now, and he is a Senoir Lead Engineer [footnote]in fact if anyone goes to Kennedy Space Center's Explorers Wanted Exibition he is the first of the recorded speakers[/footnote] which allows me to see inside the inner workings of NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
What NASA is suffering from right now is a lack of budget and Congress approved Shuttle replacement.
Low Earth Orbit is now the preserve of private space industries, that is, in terms of the United States.
NASA will now focus on Deep Space. That means the Moon and beyond (asteroids, Mars etc.).
Unfortunately, the Constellation Program was canceled meaning that the Shuttles replacement was cancelled, the return to the Moon was cancelled and the stepping stone to Mars was cancelled all in one go.
However, SpaceX and other similar private companies are likely to follow the example of the European Space Agency's example of unmanned resupply capsules and send them to the International Space Station. This is hopefully going to happen in one to two years.
With more hope and luck, private industry will be testing manned capsules within 3-4 years.
So, as you can hopefully see, NASA isn't dead, it's just a lost for the moment but these people aren't stupid so they've been planning what to do next for years.
As with everything, it's money and politics standing in the way.
