[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   TRIBUTE TO THE RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE DURANGO HIGH SCHOOL 
                         AEROSPACE DESIGN TEAM

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                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2007

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I rise today in order to 
congratulate the Durango High School Aerospace Design Team for their 
recent selection as finalists in the International Space Settlement 
Design Competition. As one of only eight teams chosen worldwide--and 
only three from the United States--the Durango High School team 
represents the best that our public education system has to offer.
  The International Space Settlement Design Competition is a serious 
endeavor, incorporating elements of engineering, logistics, creativity, 
business sense, and scientific acumen into a grand proposal where the 
competitors design a future habitat for humans on another planetary 
body. Students are held to rigorous standards; scientific concepts must 
be realistic extensions of current technologies and proposals are 
expected to provide budgetary details as well as specificities on how 
humans would live in the proposed settlement. The winning results are 
proposals that one would expect to see decades in the future, and are 
judged by engineers with expertise in the relevant fields.
  As chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House 
Science and Technology Committee and a co-chair of the House Science, 
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus, I 
have a deep appreciation of what the Durango team has accomplished. I 
have long advocated the inclusion of a rigorous science program in our 
public education system and I applaud the results of Durango High 
School's emphasis on science education. Their success is a consequence 
of their strong education in the hard sciences and I am sure that these 
students will help ensure a better future for our Nation.
  The Durango High School Aerospace Design Team will soon be competing 
against the rest of the finalists at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 
Houston, Texas. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
team on its success so far and to wish them the best of luck in the 
next and final leg of the competition.

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