[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 445 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 445

  Commending the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the 
          completion of the Space Shuttle Discovery's mission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 2006

   Mr. Paul submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
                  referred to the Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Commending the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the 
          completion of the Space Shuttle Discovery's mission.

Whereas on July 4, 2006, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        performed a successful launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery;
Whereas, due to the overall success of the launch, the Mission was able to be 
        extended from 12 to 13 days, allowing for an additional space walk to 
        the 2 originally scheduled;
Whereas this mission, known as STS-121, marks the second mission on the Return 
        to Flight sequence;
Whereas the Space Shuttle Discovery's crew consisted of Colonel Steve Lindsey; 
        Commander Mark Kelly; Piers Sellers, Ph.D; Lt. Colonel Mike Fossum; 
        Commander Lisa Nowak; Stephanie Wilson; and Thomas Reiter;
Whereas STS-121 tested shuttle safety improvements to build on findings from 
        Discovery's flight last year, including a redesign of the shuttle's 
        external fuel tank's foam insulation, in-flight inspection of the 
        shuttle's heat shield, improved imagery during launch, and the ability 
        to launch a shuttle rescue mission;
Whereas the External Tank, which underwent work prior to the mission to reduce 
        foam loss, performed well this time, especially early in the flight when 
        a light weight piece of foam could severely damage the tile or wing 
        leading edge, with the five instances of foam loss all occurring after 
        the critical release time, and with the largest foam loss on the 
        mission, which occurred in front of one of the ice/frost ramps on the 
        external tank, calculated to be .055 pounds when the mass limit in that 
        area is .25 pounds, meaning that the loss was not even a quarter of the 
        way to the limit, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        is very pleased with the performance of the tank, as it is a great 
        improvement from last year's STS-114 mission;
Whereas the STS-121 mission will bolster the International Space Station by 
        making a key repair and delivering more than 28,000 pounds of equipment 
        and supplies, as well as add a third crew member to the International 
        Space Station;
Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed new 
        procedures to ensure gap fillers between the heat-shielding tiles to 
        make them stay in place and pose no hazard on reentry, and technicians 
        removed and replaced approximately 5,000 of the shuttle's 16,000 gap 
        fillers prior to launch;
Whereas STS-121 will be the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's most 
        photographed mission in shuttle history as more than 100 high 
        definition, digital, video, and film cameras will help assess whether 
        any debris comes off the external tank during the shuttle's launch, 
        while 4 new videos have been added to the solid rocket boosters;
Whereas the success of STS-121 is a tribute to the skills and dedication of the 
        shuttle crew and all National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        employees;
Whereas all Americans benefit from the scientific advances gained through the 
        Space Shuttle program; and
Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plays a vital role in 
        America's national defense: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That it is the sense of Congress that the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration is commended for--
            (1) completing the STS-121 mission; and
            (2) its pioneering work in space exploration which is 
        strengthening the Nation and benefitting all Americans.
                                 <all>