    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [July 7, 1995]
    [Pages 1062-1063]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Telephone Conversation with Space Shuttle Atlantis Astronauts
    July 7, 1995

        The President. Hello? Captain Gibson?
        Commander Robert L. Gibson. Hello, Mr. President. This is Captain
    Gibson. We're on-line.
        The President. Welcome home, and congratulations. We are very proud
    of you.
        Commander Gibson. [Inaudible]--Mr. President. It's a pleasure for us
    to be back, back on the ground again, and to have had the opportunity to
    take part in this flight.
        The President. Well, the pictures were wonderful, and we all watched
    you with absolute fascination and incredible support and enthusiasm.
    This is truly the beginning of a new era of cooperation in space between
    the United States and Russia. We've built a new relationship between our
    two countries. We're doing things together. And I think that what you
    and your team and what the Russians did together symbolizes that more
    than anything that I could ever say. And I think because of your mission
    now, the United States and Russia, with our partners in Canada and Japan
    and Europe, are going to be able to meet the challenge of building the
    international space station. And I hope you and all of your team members
    will take an enormous amount of pride in that.
        Commander Gibson. Well, thank you, Mr. President, for those
    extremely kind words. We certainly will. And I can tell you very
    honestly that at least all of us on the crew have a lot of very good
    friends in Russia and among the Russian Cosmonaut Corps and elsewhere in
    Russia. And I look forward very much to all of us continuing this.
        The President. So do I. Before I sign off--I know you're tired and I
    know you're glad to be home--I want to offer a special congratulations
    to Norm Thagard on his record-breaking stay on orbit. We're all very
    proud of that. And I want to invite the entire crew to the White House
    as soon as you can come, because I want to hear some more about the
    mission and we need to talk about where we're going from here to keep
    the United States commitment to space exploration, travel, and to keep
    our whole program strong and alive.
        Astronaut Norman E. Thagard. Mr. President, thanks for the words.
    This is Norm Thagard. The Russians took good care of me. We're great
    friends, so I think if what we did on a personal

    [[Page 1063]]

    level is any indication, there won't be any problem with us on an
    intergovernmental level as well. And I'm sitting here looking at my two
    Russian crewmates, and I couldn't be more pleased with a crew that I've
    ever had.
        The President. The next time we have any problems between American
    and Russian officials, I'm going to send them into space. I think I now
    know how to solve all international problems. [Laughter]
        I thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing all of you.
    Welcome home.
        Commander Gibson. Thank you, Mr. President. We really appreciate
    your time and your support.
        The President. Thank you. Goodbye.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:27 a.m. from the Oval Office at the
    White House.