[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 178 (Thursday, November 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H8546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AMERICA, WE HAVE LIFT OFF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Soto) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOTO. America, we have lift off. In a surge of fire, thunder, and 
smoke, Artemis I lit the early morning sky and was launched into the 
cosmos. At 9 million pounds of thrust, Artemis I is the most powerful 
rocket ever launched from the Earth. I was honored to see this historic 
flight firsthand early yesterday morning.
  Now, after 50 years, America takes its first major step toward going 
back to the Moon; and we are bringing our many international partners 
with us, including the EU, Japan, Canada, and other allies.
  In Central Florida, we locals beam with pride that Artemis launched 
from the storied 39B pad from Cape Canaveral.
  This first mission was a long time in the making. The Orion 
spacecraft began to be developed during the Constellation program from 
2005-2010.
  In 2017, I was proud to vote formally to establish the Artemis 
program. Over the next 5 years, America got to work, including every 
State. Many Central Floridians helped build or assemble the Orion 
capsule, the Space Launch System, the crawler transporter, and other 
components.
  During that 5-year period, NASA and SpaceX also kept busy on another 
key project, launching the Crew Dragon spacecraft. On May 30, 2020, I 
saw, firsthand, Astronauts Bob and Doug launch in the Spacecraft 
Endeavour and dock at the International Space Station. This was the 
first crewed launch from American soil in 9 years.
  Since then, we have seen multiple SpaceX and Blue Origin crewed 
flights. Travel in low Earth orbit to and from ISS is now a regular 
occurrence in Central Florida.
  With these flights well in hand, NASA turned its efforts toward deep 
space exploration once again. As the most powerful rocket ever to fly 
from the Earth, we knew the first Artemis launch would never be easy. 
But America never gives up.
  It turned out that, after two scrubbed launches, the third time was 
the charm. As I stand here this morning, the Orion spacecraft just had 
its next burn to set it on a course for a lunar flyby. The closest 
approach to the Moon will be on November 21, before entering a distant 
retrograde orbit around the moon on November 25. It will roughly travel 
1.3 million miles, farther than any other crew-designed spacecraft that 
has ever traveled.
  It is a test flight, of course, so we will push Orion's capabilities 
to the maximum to ensure it is safe for future astronauts. Then Orion 
will return to the Earth in about 25\1/2\ days. After that, NASA will 
construct extensive evaluations of the returning Orion capsule.
  From there, the future of crewed lunar spaceflight will begin to 
accelerate. In 2024, Artemis II will be the first crewed launch around 
the Moon in a new craft. In 2025, Artemis III crew will have the first 
woman and next man land on the Moon. And in 2027, Artemis IV will dock 
with the Lunar Gateway Space Station and begin our permanent presence 
on the Moon.
  We will seek to discover water, learn from the harsh lunar 
environment, and advance new technologies. By the 2030s, these 
experiences and innovations will help us prepare to go to Mars and 
beyond.
  For today, let us take a moment to appreciate and thank the 
tremendous accomplishments of Administrator Bill Nelson and the amazing 
people at NASA. Yesterday was a critical milestone in our country's 
space history. This is a first major step for America to go back to the 
Moon, and then on to Mars and beyond.

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