[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 119 (Thursday, September 21, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ANOTHER NASA SUCCESS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2006

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA) successfully completed another space shuttle 
mission with this morning's landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and 
the completion of the STS-115 mission. Launched on September 9, STS-115 
is the 116th space shuttle mission, and the first since 2002 to include 
work on assembling and expanding the International Space Station. The 
successful completion of the STS-115 mission puts the space station 
back on the road to completion.
  The major accomplishments of the STS-115 mission include the delivery 
and installation of the massive P3/P4 truss--an integral part of the 
space station's backbone--and two sets of solar arrays that will 
eventually provide one quarter of the space station's power. The crew's 
other accomplishments include preparing an important radiator for later 
activation, installing a signal processor and transponder that transmit 
voice and data to the ground, and performing other tasks to upgrade and 
protect the space station's systems.
  The STS-115 mission is the first time a procedure called ``camp out'' 
was implemented. A ``camp out'' is where astronauts sleep in the Quest 
airlock prior to their space walks. The process shortens the 
``prebreathe'' time during which nitrogen is purged from the 
astronauts' systems and air pressure is lowered so the space walkers 
avoid the condition known as the bends. The ``camp out'' procedure 
enabled the astronauts to perform more than the number of scheduled 
activities on each of the mission's three space walks.
  The Atlantis's crew preformed unprecedented robotics work on this 
mission. The crew used the shuttle's arm in a delicate maneuver to hand 
off the school bus-sized truss to the space station's arm, and also 
moved the space station's robotic arm to a position where it will 
assist in the next phase of station construction. Perhaps most 
significantly, the Atlantis crew preformed the first full fly around of 
the space station since before the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. 
Thanks to the fly around, ground crews now have a better perspective on 
the space station's environment and overall exterior health.
  Coming less than 2 months after the successful mission of the Space 
Shuttle Discovery, the Atlantis mission is another demonstration of the 
skills and dedication of all NASA personal. I therefore urge all my 
colleagues join me in extending congratulations to NASA for the 
successful completion of the Atlantis mission. And extend a special 
thank you to Atlantis's crew of Commander Brent Jett, Mission 
Specialist Joe Tanner, Mission Specialist Steve MacLean, Pilot Chris 
Ferguson, Mission Specialist Dan Burbank, and Mission Specialist Heide 
Stefanyshyn-Piper, and the ground team that worked with the shuttle 
crew to make this mission a success.

                          ____________________