I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2500 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2007 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself and Mr. CULBERSON) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the estab-
lishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NASA and JPL 50th 
Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration began operation on October 1, 1958, 
with about 8,000 employees and an annual budget 
of $100,000,000. 
(2) Over the next 50 years, the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration and the Jet Pro-
pulsion Laboratory have been involved in many de-
fining events which have shaped the course of 
human history and demonstrated to the world the 
character of the people of the United States. 
(3) Among the many firsts by the National Aer-
onautics and Space Administration are the following: 
(A) On December 6, 1958, the United 
States launched Pioneer 3, the first United 
States satellite to ascend to an altitude of 
63,580 miles. 
(B) On March 3, 1959, the United States 
sent Pioneer 4 to the Moon, successfully mak-
ing the first United States lunar flyby. 
(C) On April 1, 1960, the United States 
launched TIROS 1, the first successful mete-
orological satellite, observing Earth’s weather. 
(D) On May 5, 1961, Freedom 7, carrying 
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., was the first 
American space flight involving human beings. 
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(E) On February 20, 1962, John Glenn 
became the first American to circle the Earth, 
making three orbits in his Friendship 7 Mer-
cury spacecraft. 
(F) On December 14, 1962, Mariner 2 be-
came the first spacecraft to commit a successful 
planetary flyby (Venus). 
(G) On April 6, 1965, the United States 
launched Intelsat I, the first commercial sat-
ellite 
(communications), 
into 
geostationary 
orbit. 
(H) On June 3–7, 1965, the second piloted 
Gemini mission, Gemini IV, stayed aloft for 4 
days and astronaut Edward H. White II per-
formed the first EVA or spacewalk by an Amer-
ican. 
(I) On June 2, 1966, Surveyor 1 became 
the first American spacecraft to soft-land on 
the Moon. 
(J) On November 13, 1971, the United 
States launched Mariner 9, the first mission to 
orbit another planet (Mars). 
(K) On April 12, 1981, the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration launched the 
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Space Shuttle Columbia on the first flight of 
the Space Transportation System (STS–1). 
(L) On June 18–24, 1983, the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration launched 
Space Shuttle Challenger (STS–7) carrying 3 
mission specialists, including Sally K. Ride, the 
first woman astronaut. 
(M) In another historic mission, 2 months 
later the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration launched STS–8 carrying the first 
black American astronaut, Guion S. Bluford. 
(N) On July 22, 1999, the Space Shuttle 
Columbia’s 26th flight was led by Air Force 
Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman to com-
mand a Shuttle mission. 
(4) On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration unveiled the Mercury as-
tronaut corps, 7 men with ‘‘the right stuff’’: John 
H. Glenn, Jr., Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Alan B. 
Shepard, Jr., M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Coo-
per, Virgil I. ‘‘Gus’’ Grissom, and Donald K. 
‘‘Deke’’ Slayton. 
(5) On May 25, 1961, President John F. Ken-
nedy, reflecting the highest aspirations of the Amer-
ican people, proclaimed: ‘‘I believe this Nation 
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