[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16153]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          STENNIS SPACE CENTER

  (Mr. PALAZZO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, there is a saying that the path to space 
goes through Hancock County, Mississippi. That statement has been true 
for five decades due to the unequaled excellence and dedication of the 
men and women of the John C. Stennis Space Center, which commemorates 
the 50th anniversary of its founding this week.
  The work done at Stennis is varied, but it is known worldwide as the 
home of rocket engine testing. Before we have sent men and women into 
space, the engines they ascended on were tested on the ground at 
Stennis. Every mission to the Moon and every flight of the space 
shuttle roared with Stennis-tested engines. The Space Center is the 
beacon of innovation for private industry, educational institutions, 
and students of all ages.
  I am honored to serve as chairman of the Space and Aeronautics 
Subcommittee. In my role, I hope to see all my colleagues visit the 
Stennis Space Center, especially to see an engine test. You will be 
awed by the technological ingenuity and complexity of the operation and 
of the passion and skill of the workforce.
  It is so easy to herald the past achievements of NASA and the Stennis 
Space Center, but it is the future that should drive us toward even 
greater ones, for the path back to the Moon, to Mars and beyond goes 
through Hancock County, Mississippi.

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