,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of
 ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january #ca1 
#bjac ,mr4 ,cornyn 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,nelson1 ,mr4 ,thune1 ,mr4 ,rockefeller1
 ,mr4 ,isakson1 ,mr4 ,warner1 ,mr4      
,heller1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,coburn1    
,ms4 ,mikulski1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mrs4      
,boxer1 ,mr4 ,enzi1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4   
,pryor1 ,mr4 ,alexander1 ,mrs4          
,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,johanns1 ,mr4 ,begich1
 ,mr4 ,vitter1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4     
,moran1 ,mr4 ,hatch1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 and  
,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 submitted the        
following resolution2 which was         
considered and agreed to  ,,resolution  
,commemorating the #aj-year anniversary 
of the loss of the ,space ,shuttle      
,columbia4  ,whereas a sense of         
adventure is innate to the human spirit2
 ,whereas the urge to explore continues 
to motivate the ,united ,states as a    
nation2 ,whereas the global leadership  
of the ,united ,states is determined by 
the resolve of the people of the ,united

 ,states2 ,whereas the drive to innovate
 and explore has led the people of the  
,national ,aeronautics and ,space       
,administration and related industry and
 education leaders to make important    
discoveries with a broad impact on      
humanity1 in spite of inherent risk2    
,whereas the men and women of the space 
program of the ,united ,states have     
captured the curiosity of the people of 
the ,united ,states1 inspiring          
generations of scientists1 engineers1   
and pioneers1 and delivering            
technological advances and innovation1  
scientific research1 and international  
partnerships to the benefit of nearly   
all sectors of the economy of the       
,united ,states2 ,whereas1 on ,february 
#a1 #bjjc1 the ,united ,states joined   
the world in mourning the loss of #g    
astronauts who perished aboard the      
,space ,shuttle ,columbia as it         
re-entered the atmosphere of the ,earth2
 ,whereas ,united ,states ,air ,force   
,colonel ,rick ,d4 ,husband1 ,mission   

,commander2 ,united ,states ,navy       
,commander ,william ,willie ,c4         
,mc,cool1 ,pilot2 ,united ,states ,air  
,force ,lieutenant ,colonel ,michael ,p4
 ,anderson1 ,payload                    
,commander_/,mission ,specialist2       
,united ,states ,navy ,captain ,david   
,m4 ,brown1 ,mission ,specialist2       
,united ,states ,navy ,commander ,laurel
 ,b4 ,clark1 ,mission ,specialist2 ,dr4 
,kalpana ,chawla1 ,mission ,specialist2 
and ,israeli ,air ,force ,colonel ,ilan 
,ramon1 ,payload ,specialist were killed
 in the line of duty and in pursuit of  
discovery during the ,,sts-#ajg mission2
 ,whereas the people of the ,united     
,states are driven to continue the      
exploration and pursuit of discovery    
with as much passion and determination  
as these brave men and women2 ,whereas  
an innate curiosity about what lies     
beyond our world drives us to expand the
 limits of human exploration and        
discovery in space1 in the furtherance  
of the leadership and strategic         

interests of the ,united ,states2       
,whereas exploring the heavens and the  
celestial bodies of the solar system is 
not without great risk and peril2       
,whereas the loss of the #g brave souls 
aboard the ,space ,shuttle ,columbia and
 others who have sacrificed their lives 
in pursuit of human space exploration   
shall forever serve as a solemn reminder
 of the firm commitment of the ,united  
,states to devote the capacity and      
resources necessary to improve safety1  
minimize risk1 and do everything        
possible to protect the next generation 
of explorers willing to risk themselves 
in the service of mankind2 ,whereas     
those involved in the ,space ,shuttle   
program of the ,united ,states have     
sought to apply the lessons learned from
 the ,space ,shuttle ,columbia accident 
to future human spaceflight by the      
,united ,states1 which included #bb     
additional program missions and         
shepherding the ,space ,shuttle program 
to its safe and successful conclusion2  

,whereas the lessons learned from the   
,space ,shuttle ,columbia accident      
should be applied to current policy of  
the space program of the ,united        
,states2 and ,whereas the people of the 
,united ,states will not forget the     
sacrifice of those #g determined        
explorers aboard the ,space ,shuttle    
,columbia1 as well as others who        
perished in the exploration of the      
unknown3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that  
the ,senate--  7#a7 remembers the #g    
astronauts who tragically lost their    
lives aboard the ,space ,shuttle        
,columbia as it re-entered the          
atmosphere of the ,earth #aj years ago  
on ,february #a1 #bjjc2  7#b7 expresses 
its condolences to the friends and      
families of the astronauts who died that
 day2  7#c7 commends those who have     
honored the memory of the ,space        
,shuttle ,columbia over the past decade1
 including the employees of ,federal1   
,state1 and local agencies1 as well as  
regular citizens and volunteers1 who    

assisted in the debris recovery and     
accident investigation process2 and     
7#d7 reaffirms the commitment of the    
people and the ,government of the       
,united ,states to provide the          
leadership and resources necessary to   
ensure robust and safe human spaceflight
 capability in low ,earth orbit and     
beyond in the #bast century1 to make    
certain that the sacrifice of those     
heroes shall not have been in vain4