III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 233 

Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle Program on reaching the historic milestone of 

the 135th and final flight of the Space Transportation System. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2011 

Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. HUTCHISON, 

Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

UDALL of Colorado, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. VITTER) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration Space Shuttle Program on 

reaching the historic milestone of the 135th and final 

flight of the Space Transportation System. 

Whereas the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8, 

2011, is the 135th and final flight of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Transportation 

System (STS–135) and the 33rd flight of the space shuttle Atlantis; 

Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

built 5 space-capable orbiters, the Columbia, the Challenger, the Discovery, the Atlantis, and the Endeavour; 


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•SRES 233 ATS 

Whereas, with the launch of STS–135, 355 individuals will 

have flown 852 times during the history of the Space 

Shuttle Program, beginning with the launch of the first 

Space Transportation System flight on April 12, 1981; 

Whereas a spirit of international partnership has been fostered among the 16 countries represented on the space 

shuttle missions flown during the history of the Space 

Shuttle Program, including Belgium, Canada, France, 

Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, 

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, 

Ukraine, and the United States; 

Whereas the space shuttles together have flown 537,114,016 

miles, with STS–135 adding an additional 4,000,000 

miles; 

Whereas, during the history of the Space Shuttle Program, 

more than 2,000 on-orbit experiments have been conducted in the fields of Earth science, biology, fluids, materials sciences, and astronomy; 

Whereas the Space Shuttle Program has executed the launch 

and service of the Hubble Space Telescope, enabling 

groundbreaking and breathtaking views of the universe 

outside of our solar system; 

Whereas the space shuttles have docked to 2 different space 

stations, with 9 missions to Mir, the space station of the 

Government of Russia, and 37 missions to the International Space Station; 

Whereas the Space Shuttle Program has been essential to the 

on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station and 

vital to ensuring the continued viability and support of 

the International Space Station; 


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•SRES 233 ATS 

Whereas the space shuttles have landed at the Kennedy 

Space Center 77 times, at Edwards Air Force Base 54 

times, and at the White Sands Test Facility once; 

Whereas the launch configuration of the entire Space Transportation System contains approximately 2,500,000 moving parts and, at lift-off, weighs approximately 4,500,000 

pounds; and 

Whereas the space shuttles can travel around the Earth at 

a speed of approximately 17,500 miles per hour: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the National Aeronautics and 

3 Space Administration on reaching the historic mile4 stone of the 135th and final flight of the Space 

5 Transportation System; 

6 (2) honors the men and women of the Space 

7 Shuttle Program, who worked tirelessly to design, 

8 build, and operate the Space Transportation System, 

9 in order to promote science, exploration, and inter10 national cooperation; 

11 (3) remembers the 14 crewmembers lost during 

12 the space shuttle Challenger accident, which oc13 curred on January 28, 1986, and the space shuttle 

14 Columbia accident, which occurred on February 1, 

15 2003; 

16 (4) notes the diligence in applying the lessons 

17 learned through the Challenger and Columbia trageVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:34 Jul 13, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR233.ATS SR233

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•SRES 233 ATS 

1 dies to honor the 14 crewmembers we lost and en2 hance the safety of the crewmembers that followed; 

3 (5) recognizes that the Space Shuttle Program 

4 has inspired generations of children to become engi5 neers, scientists, and explorers, which has led to 

6 maintaining the precedent of leadership in human 

7 space exploration set by the United States during 

8 the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions; and 

9 (6) acknowledges that the Space Shuttle Pro10 gram has, through its technological advancements 

11 and scientific research, driven innovation in the 

12 fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathe13 matics to benefit the people of the United States 

14 and all of humankind. 

Æ 


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