III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 675 

Congratulating the men and women of the Commercial Crew Program of 

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and astronauts Robert L. Behnken and 

Douglas G. Hurley on the successful completion of the Crew Dragon 

Demo–2 test flight. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2020 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the men and women of the Commercial Crew 

Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and astronauts Robert L. Behnken and Douglas 

G. Hurley on the successful completion of the Crew 

Dragon Demo–2 test flight. 

Whereas, on July 8, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis 

launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 135th 

and final flight (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘STS– 

135’’) of the Space Transportation System of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to 

in this preamble as ‘‘NASA’’); 


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•SRES 675 IS 

Whereas, following the retirement of the space shuttle 

Atlantis, which was the last space shuttle in the fleet of 

the Space Transportation System, and the formal end of 

the Space Shuttle Program on August 31, 2011, the 

United States lacked the domestic capability to launch 

astronauts to the International Space Station (referred to 

in this preamble as the ‘‘ISS’’) from United States soil; 

Whereas, following the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 

2011, the only method for transporting astronauts of the 

United States to the ISS was to purchase seats on the 

Soyuz spacecraft of Russia at a cost of approximately 

$86,000,000 per seat; 

Whereas, in 2011, NASA began investing money in what 

would become the Commercial Crew Program to stimulate efforts within the private sector to aid in the development and demonstration of safe, reliable, and cost-effective crew transportation capabilities to replace the Space 

Transportation System; 

Whereas, in August 2012, NASA awarded funding to 3 participants under the Commercial Crew Program, the Boeing Company, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (referred to in this 

preamble as ‘‘SpaceX’’), for the commercial development 

of fully integrated crew transportation capabilities; 

Whereas, in September 2014, NASA completed the down selection process and awarded contracts under the Commercial Crew Program to 2 participants, the Boeing 

Company and SpaceX, for commercially built and operated integrated crew transportation systems; 

Whereas, on January 19, 2020, NASA and SpaceX completed the launch escape demonstration of the Crew 


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Dragon spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket, which was 

the final major flight test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft 

before a demonstration flight to the ISS with astronauts 

from the United States; 

Whereas, on May 30, 2020, Robert L. Behnken and Douglas 

G. Hurley became the first astronauts from the United 

States to launch to the ISS on a rocket of the United 

States from United States soil since STS–135 on July 8, 

2011; 

Whereas Douglas G. Hurley had also served on the crew of 

STS–135 as the pilot; 

Whereas, on May 31, 2020, Robert L. Behnken and Douglas 

G. Hurley arrived safely at the ISS, docking the Crew 

Dragon spacecraft to the Harmony module of the ISS 

and joining Expedition 63 as crew members; 

Whereas, on August 1, 2020, Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley departed the ISS after spending 2 months 

as crew members of Expedition 63; 

Whereas, on August 2, 2020, the Crew Dragon spacecraft 

safely splashed down off the coast of Florida; 

Whereas the successful completion of the Crew Dragon 

Demo–2 test flight marks a new chapter in human space 

exploration by transporting astronauts on a commercially 

built and operated spacecraft of the United States for the 

first time; and 

Whereas the continued leadership of the United States in 

space and space exploration is vital for— 

(1) both the national security and economic prosperity of the United States and the friends and allies of 

the United States; and 


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(2) the continued development and exploration of 

space for the benefit of humankind: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the men and women of the 

3 Commercial Crew Program of the National Aero4 nautics and Space Administration (referred to in 

5 this resolution as ‘‘NASA’’) and Space Exploration 

6 Technologies Corporation (referred to in this resolu7 tion as ‘‘SpaceX’’) and astronauts Robert L. 

8 Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley on the successful 

9 completion of the Crew Dragon Demo–2 test flight; 

10 (2) honors the men and women of SpaceX and 

11 the Commercial Crew Program of NASA, who 

12 worked tirelessly to design, build, and operate the 

13 Crew Dragon spacecraft; 

14 (3) recognizes the contributions of all of the ad15 ministrators, astronauts, engineers, scientists, and 

16 support staff— 

17 (A) who helped reach the milestone of the 

18 successful completion of the Crew Dragon 

19 Demo–2 test flight; and 

20 (B) whose dedication and continued efforts 

21 will ensure the continued leadership of the 

22 United States in space; 


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1 (4) recognizes that NASA, through its pro2 grams of human space exploration, including Mer3 cury, Gemini, Apollo, the Space Shuttle Program, 

4 the International Space Station, and the Commercial 

5 Crew Program, has inspired and continues to inspire 

6 generations of children to become engineers, sci7 entists, and explorers, which has led the United 

8 States to maintain its precedent of leadership in 

9 human space exploration; and 

10 (5) reaffirms the commitment of the Senate to 

11 human space exploration for the benefit of human12 kind. 

Æ 


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