[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 233 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 233

   Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Space Shuttle Program on reaching the historic milestone 
   of the 135th and final flight of the Space Transportation System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 13, 2011

Mr. Nelson of Florida (for himself, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Hutchison, 
  Mr. Boozman, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Udall of 
     Colorado, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Vitter) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Space Shuttle Program on reaching the historic milestone 
   of the 135th and final flight of the Space Transportation System.

Whereas the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8, 2011, is the 135th 
        and final flight of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        Space Transportation System (STS-135) and the 33rd flight of the space 
        shuttle Atlantis;
Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration built 5 space-capable 
        orbiters, the Columbia, the Challenger, the Discovery, the Atlantis, and 
        the Endeavour;
Whereas, with the launch of STS-135, 355 individuals will have flown 852 times 
        during the history of the Space Shuttle Program, beginning with the 
        launch of the first Space Transportation System flight on April 12, 
        1981;
Whereas a spirit of international partnership has been fostered among the 16 
        countries represented on the space shuttle missions flown during the 
        history of the Space Shuttle Program, including Belgium, Canada, France, 
        Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi 
        Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States;
Whereas the space shuttles together have flown 537,114,016 miles, with STS-135 
        adding an additional 4,000,000 miles;
Whereas, during the history of the Space Shuttle Program, more than 2,000 on-
        orbit experiments have been conducted in the fields of Earth science, 
        biology, fluids, materials sciences, and astronomy;
Whereas the Space Shuttle Program has executed the launch and service of the 
        Hubble Space Telescope, enabling groundbreaking and breathtaking views 
        of the universe outside of our solar system;
Whereas the space shuttles have docked to 2 different space stations, with 9 
        missions to Mir, the space station of the Government of Russia, and 37 
        missions to the International Space Station;
Whereas the Space Shuttle Program has been essential to the on-orbit assembly of 
        the International Space Station and vital to ensuring the continued 
        viability and support of the International Space Station;
Whereas the space shuttles have landed at the Kennedy Space Center 77 times, at 
        Edwards Air Force Base 54 times, and at the White Sands Test Facility 
        once;
Whereas the launch configuration of the entire Space Transportation System 
        contains approximately 2,500,000 moving parts and, at lift-off, weighs 
        approximately 4,500,000 pounds; and
Whereas the space shuttles can travel around the Earth at a speed of 
        approximately 17,500 miles per hour: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) congratulates the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration on reaching the historic milestone of the 135th 
        and final flight of the Space Transportation System;
            (2) honors the men and women of the Space Shuttle Program, 
        who worked tirelessly to design, build, and operate the Space 
        Transportation System, in order to promote science, 
        exploration, and international cooperation;
            (3) remembers the 14 crewmembers lost during the space 
        shuttle Challenger accident, which occurred on January 28, 
        1986, and the space shuttle Columbia accident, which occurred 
        on February 1, 2003;
            (4) notes the diligence in applying the lessons learned 
        through the Challenger and Columbia tragedies to honor the 14 
        crewmembers we lost and enhance the safety of the crewmembers 
        that followed;
            (5) recognizes that the Space Shuttle Program has inspired 
        generations of children to become engineers, scientists, and 
        explorers, which has led to maintaining the precedent of 
        leadership in human space exploration set by the United States 
        during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions; and
            (6) acknowledges that the Space Shuttle Program has, 
        through its technological advancements and scientific research, 
        driven innovation in the fields of science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics to benefit the people of the 
        United States and all of humankind.
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