[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15631]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            RETURN TO FLIGHT

  (Mr. WELDON of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I wish all the best for 
NASA and the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery and the men and women 
of Kennedy Space Center on attempting to launch tomorrow. Those of us 
who support the program understand how critically important it is for 
the United States to have a continuing human presence in space.
  After the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February of 2003, we 
have not been able to launch our astronauts into space for almost 2\1/
2\ years. With a successful launch tomorrow, we will once again show 
the world that our program and the dedicated people behind it are 
second to none and that our space shuttle fleet is unrivaled when it 
comes to technology and mission capability. This launch will be an 
important first step, a first step in the new vision for space 
exploration articulated by President Bush in January of 2004, a vision 
that is not only taking us back to low Earth orbit and the space 
station but that will lead us back to the Moon and one day on to Mars.
  Again, I know I speak for all Americans when we wish the crew of 
Discovery God speed and a safe mission.

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