[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to honor the 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in California's 27th Congressional 
District, and pay tribute to for the enormous success of the Voyager 
Mission. On September 7, 2002, JPL will celebrate the 25th Anniversary 
of the Voyager Mission--one of America's most successful space 
exploration endeavors.
  In the summer of 1977, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched twin 
spacecrafts, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on a mission to conduct close-up 
studies of Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn's rings and the larger moons of 
the two planets. In order to accomplish this mission, the spacecraft 
were built to last five years, but as the mission went on, and with the 
successful achievement of all of its objectives, the additional studies 
of the two outermost giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, proved 
possible. Thus, their two planet mission became four and their five 
year lifetime expectancy has stretched to 25 years and more.
  At the final completion of their mission, Voyager I and 2 will have 
explored all the giant outer planets of our solar system, 48 of their 
moons, and the unique systems of rings and magnetic fields those 
planets possess. Currently, the two Voyagers are headed towards the 
outer boundary of the solar system at a speed that would move them from 
New York to Los Angeles in less than four minutes. They are in search 
of the heliopause--the region where the Sun's influence gives way to 
interstellar space. The hetiopause has never been reached by any 
spacecraft; the Voyagers may be the first to pass through this region, 
which is thought to exist somewhere from 5 to 14 billion miles from the 
Sun.
  The accomplishments of the Voyager Mission are a testament to 25 
years of excellence by the staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From 
the scientists that worked on the mission in 1977 to today's mission 
specialists, JPL staff has shepherded Voyager to the farthest reaches 
of our solar system and in the process Voyager has unlocked mysteries 
that have revolutionized the science of planetary astronomy.
  I ask all Members to please join me in congratulating the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory on the 25th Anniversary of the Voyager Mission. 
It stands as a shining example of American ingenuity and our commitment 
to exploring and understanding the far reaches of our solar system.

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