[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11236-S11237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF NASA

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas. We both 
share a keen interest in space. I will also be speaking on the topic of 
the 40th anniversary of NASA, which is today.
  Mr. President, next month, from launch pad 39B at Cape Canaveral, the 
Space Shuttle's main engines will fire up, the solid rocket motors will 
ignite, and the crew of seven will be sent off into orbit around our 
home planet. One of those seven will be the distinguished Senator from 
Ohio. More than 36 years after his first flight, John Glenn will again 
orbit the earth in a United States spacecraft.
  I have here a picture of Senator Glenn taken 36 years ago with Dr. 
Wernher von Braun in Huntsville, Alabama, my home State. They are shown 
here discussing a proposed lunar landing craft. What an imagination, 
what a vision, what an exploring capacity they had. Shortly after that 
first orbital flight, they were already planning a trip to the moon--a 
vision that many thought could never be achieved and was achieved so 
successfully.
  Senator Glenn's remarkable story is a subplot to the remarkable story 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. On October 1, 
1958, just six months before the distinguished Senator from Ohio was 
named as one of the original Mercury astronauts, NASA was born. Today, 
NASA marks its 40th anniversary of service to this Nation.
  It is hard to believe that more than 40 years have passed since the 
Soviet launch of Sputnik. Spurred by concern over the Soviet advantage 
in space, the Eisenhower administration proposed the creation of a 
civil space agency to lead our Nation in the exploration of space. 
Forty years later, the Soviet Union no longer exists. But NASA stands 
on the threshold of a new millennium, the undisputed world leader in 
space exploration.
  The agency's achievements and discoveries during that 40-year period 
have changed our world in many ways. Those who are familiar with the 
space program talk frequently of the many ``spinoffs'' from the 
program. There are, in fact, many products and services that are 
obviously and directly attributable to the space program.
  For instance, many Americans do not leave home in the morning before 
checking the weather forecast. Being from Mobile and just sitting 
through a hurricane, this was particularly true for me this past 
weekend. Of course, weather satellites orbiting the earth have 
revolutionized weather forecasting. Many of us check the forecast by

[[Page S11237]]

turning on the television networks that distribute their signals by 
satellite. Indeed, I saw a writer interviewed recently. He said he 
realized just how significant this global communications system was 
when he was on a dirt road in Africa and he picked up a cell phone and, 
through a satellite, called his home in Ohio.
  There are a great number of beneficial byproducts of NASA's work that 
are less obvious. Indeed, many credit the micro-miniaturization of 
electronics, which was driven by the needs of the space program, with 
ushering in the whole technological revolution and the information age 
that we are now experiencing.
  As important as the tangible benefits from the space program have 
been, I believe the intangible benefits have been even more 
significant. What value can we assign to our victory in the space 
race--to our come-from-behind win against a totalitarian rival? What 
would have been the military and foreign policy implications of Soviet 
domination in outer space?
  But Cold War implications aside, NASA's success has been an important 
factor in elevating our national spirit. For America, exploration is 
imperative. We will never be content to sit back as observers while 
others take the risks and are rewarded with new discoveries. 
Exploration can take many forms, but, probably more than anyone else, 
NASA exemplifies our spirit of exploration.
  There was a time, earlier in our Nation's history, when Alabama and 
everything west of the Appalachians comprised the frontier. Today, 
space is the frontier. Since its inception 40 years ago, NASA has been 
charting the path in this new and exciting territory.
  On October 7, 1958, just one week after it came into existence, NASA 
formally approved Project Mercury to send a man into orbit around the 
earth, investigate his capabilities and reactions to space and return 
him safely to earth. Project Mercury produced genuine American heroes, 
like the late Alan Shepard and then-Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn.
  On May 25, 1961--shortly after Alan Shepard's suborbital flight, and 
months before Senator Glenn became the first American astronaut to 
orbit the earth in February of 1962--President Kennedy set a high mark 
for the young space program. Speaking to a joint session of Congress, 
he established a national goal of landing a man on the moon and 
bringing him safely back to earth, and this was to be accomplished 
before the decade was out.
  As we all know, the nation and NASA were up to the challenge. On July 
20, 1969, an Apollo lunar landing craft carrying Neil Armstrong and 
Buzz Aldrin touched down on the surface of the moon. That remarkable 
achievement stands as one of the proudest moments in American history, 
and one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind.
  Since Apollo, NASA's accomplishments have been legion, in aeronautics 
as well as space, in unmanned exploration as well as human space 
flight. While it is hard to match the thrill of the first moon landing, 
the expansion of scientific knowledge flowing from NASA's later 
programs has truly been historic.
  As we look to the future, NASA cannot, and would not, rest on its 
laurels. Within the first few months after its 40th Anniversary, NASA 
will launch the STS-95 science mission, with Senator Glenn on board, 
will launch the first U.S. element of the International Space Station, 
and will launch its next great observatory, the Advanced X-Ray 
Astrophysics Facility.
  Following close on the heels of those missions will be the first 
flights of the X-34 technology demonstrator and the X-33 reusable 
launch vehicle prototype, as well as the launch of the U.S. Laboratory 
Module for the Space Station.
  All of this is scheduled to occur before this millennium closes. With 
proper support from the Administration, the Congress and the public, 
NASA will continue to lead the world in exploration well into the next 
millennium.
  I am proud of the role that my home state has played and continues to 
play in the space program. Even before NASA was formed, Dr. Wernher von 
Braun and his team of rocket scientists with the Army Ballistic Missile 
Agency in Huntsville were developing new rocket systems. A modified 
Jupiter-C rocket, developed by von Braun's team, answered Sputnik by 
placing the Explorer I Satellite into orbit on January 31, 1958.
  This is a remarkable picture taken at the ABMA Fabrication Lab in 
Huntsville in 1959. Shown here are the original seven Mecury 
astronauts, who are touring the facility with Dr. von Braun. From left 
to right we see: Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, 
Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Deke Slayton, and Dr. von Braun.
  In 1960, 4000 employees of the ABMA in Huntsville were transferred to 
NASA's control, and Dr. von Braun became the first Director of the 
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. Von Braun and the Marshall 
Center would be responsible for the Redstone rocket, which lifted Alan 
Shepard into outer space, and for the giant Saturn V rocket, which 
propelled Apollo 11 to the moon.
  Marshall Space Flight Center is still NASA's center of excellence for 
space propulsion, as well as NASA's lead center for Space 
Transportation Systems Development and for Microgravity Research. 
Companies and universities in Alabama also continue to play important 
roles in the space program.
  So I have reason to be proud of Alabama's contributions. But 
universities, corporations, and NASA installations throughout the 
country play important roles in the space program and in space-based 
research. Our whole nation can be proud of our accomplishments in 
space, and in NASA's important aeronautics research.
  We have succeeded because we are willing to take risks. And we have 
been unwilling to quit when we encounter difficulties and setbacks.
  The tragic Apollo fire cost the lives of three brave astronauts. But 
we persevered, and the Apollo program made giant leaps for mankind.
  During launch in 1973, the Skylab space station sustained damage that 
threatened to render it useless before it ever was put into service. 
Creative engineering salvaged that very important program.
  The Challenger explosion in 1986 was a terribly painful event. We all 
mourned with the families of those brave explorers. But, following that 
tragedy, NASA was able to regroup, and has since safely flown 65 Space 
Shuttle missions, with a tremendous harvest of scientific results.
  Perhaps it is this knack for overcoming adversity that makes NASA so 
special. Space is a harsh environment, and setbacks are inevitable. The 
risks are real. But NASA has done an extraordinary job of coping with 
the difficult situations that they have confronted. Many times the 
people of NASA have turned potential failures into remarkable 
successes.
  Now, as we stand on the threshold of a new century--indeed, a new 
millennium--our whole nation can be proud as we look back on NASA's 
accomplishments in its first 40 years. And we can be optimistic as we 
look ahead.
  Optimistic that our spirit of exploration is alive and well. 
Optimistic that we will continue to see tangible and intangible fruit 
from our investment in space. Optimistic that our children's lives will 
be richer because we dare to reach for the stars.
  Mr. President, I congratulate NASA on its 40th anniversary. I look 
forward to continuing to work hard to support this program in the 
future. Unfortunately, the administration's budget for the last 4 years 
has shown a net reduction in funding for NASA. I have spoken on that 
before. The budget we approved this year represents a small reduction 
again this year over last year's budget for NASA. I think it is time 
that we recognize our character as a nation, that we not cut NASA, that 
we recognize that it symbolizes who we are as a people. We should 
recognize that NASA symbolizes our best and highest instincts as a 
nation, and that we ought to be space explorers as Lewis and Clark 
explored the frontier, and as we have explored the seas and so many 
things.
  Mr. President, I want to again say how much I have been honored to 
serve with astronaut Glenn, Colonel Glenn, and Senator Glenn. He has 
been a high representative of this Senate. We cheer him on again as he 
goes forward to his next flight 36 years after the first.




                          ____________________