[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4563-S4564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
ADMINISTRATION SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 233, submitted
earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (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.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, because I was on the floor, the
remarkable Senate staff, who do this so much in a routine fashion,
asked me to do this. Of course, it was with enormous emotion that I
watched Atlantis soar into the heavens last Friday. This is a fitting
tribute to the people who have made this program possible for 30 years,
with 135 flights, not without tragedy for we lost two space shuttles
and 14 souls. Now we are going to a vigorous new program with new, more
efficient, and safer rockets that will take us into the heavens.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed
to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon
the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements
relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 233) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 233
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
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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.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
____________________