III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 307 

Honoring the men and women of the John C. Stennis Space Center on 

reaching the historic milestone of 50 years of rocket engine testing. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 21 (legislative day, OCTOBER 20), 2011 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. VITTER, and Ms. LANDRIEU) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the men and women of the John C. Stennis Space 

Center on reaching the historic milestone of 50 years 

of rocket engine testing. 

Whereas, 50 years ago this month, on October 25, 1961, the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred 

to in this preamble as ‘‘NASA’’) publicly announced 

plans to establish a testing facility in Hancock County, 

Mississippi, for the purpose of flight-certifying all first 

and second stages of the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 

lunar landing program that would take humans to the 

Moon; 

Whereas the testing facility was renamed the John C. Stennis 

Space Center (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Stennis Space Center’’) in 1988 in honor of United States 

Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi; 

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Whereas the Stennis Space Center conducted 45 engine tests 

for the Apollo program; 

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is now home to the largest 

rocket engine test complex in the United States and 

serves as the premier rocket-propulsion testing facility in 

the United States, providing propulsion test services for 

NASA, the Department of Defense, and commercial providers; 

Whereas NASA has celebrated the end of a successful Space 

Shuttle program, having conducted more than 2,000 total 

space shuttle main engine tests and certified 54 flight engines at the Stennis Space Center; 

Whereas, as NASA enters a new era in space exploration, the 

Stennis Space Center will continue to play a vital role in 

the United States space program and commercial space 

efforts; 

Whereas the Stennis Space Center has grown into a unique 

Federal city that includes more than 30 Federal, State, 

academic, and private organizations, and numerous technology-based companies; 

Whereas the companies and agencies at the Stennis Space 

Center share the cost of operating and maintaining the 

facility, making the accomplishment of missions by each 

entity more cost-effective; 

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is home to— 

(1) the United States Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, which includes the largest concentration of oceanographers in the world; 

(2) the most powerful supercomputer of the United 

States Navy; and 

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(3) the National Center for Critical Information 

Processing and Storage, which is facilitating the data 

center consolidation efforts by the Department of Homeland Security; 

Whereas the Stennis Space Center played a critical role during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by providing unique 

resources and expertise on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem 

to predict the spread and impact of the spill; 

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is an economic engine for 

Mississippi and Louisiana, generating— 

(1) approximately 5,400 jobs; 

(2) a direct global economic impact of 

$875,000,000; and 

(3) a direct economic impact of $616,000,000 within 

a 50-mile radius; and 

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is committed to continuing 

in the role of inspiring the next generation of United 

States scientists, engineers, and professionals: 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 50th anniversary of the John C. Stennis 

5 Space Center; and 

6 (2) honors the men and women who worked 

7 tirelessly to design, build, and test the rocket en8 gines used in the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs 

9 in order to promote science, engineering, innovation, 

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1 and exploration to the benefit of the United States 

2 and all humankind. 

Æ 

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