,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #fge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #f1 #bjbj,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 and ,mr4 ,rubio7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 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 ,l4 ,behnken and ,douglas ,g4 ,hurley on the successful completion of the ,crew ,dragon ,demo-#b test flight4 ,whereas1 on ,july #h1 #bjaa1 the space shuttle ,atlantis launched from the ,kennedy ,space ,center on the #aceth and final flight 7referred to in this preamble as ,,sts-#ace7 of the ,space ,transportation ,system of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration 7referred to in this preamble as ,,nasa72 ,whereas1 following the retirement of the space shuttle ,atlantis1 which was the last space shuttle in the fleet of the ,space ,transportation ,system1 and the formal end of the ,space ,shuttle ,program on ,august #ca1 #bjaa1 the ,united ,states lacked the domestic capability to launch astronauts to the ,international ,space ,station 7referred to in this preamble as the ,,iss7 from ,united ,states soil2 ,whereas1 following the end of the ,space ,shuttle ,program in #bjaa1 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 #hf1jjj1jjj per seat2 ,whereas1 in #bjaa1 ,,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 safe1 reliable1 and cost-effective crew transportation capabilities to replace the ,space ,transportation ,system2 ,whereas1 in ,august #bjab1 ,,nasa awarded funding to #c participants under the ,commercial ,crew ,program1 the ,boeing ,company1 ,sierra ,nevada ,corporation1 and ,space ,exploration ,technologies ,corporation 7referred to in this preamble as ,space,x71 for the commercial development of fully integrated crew transportation capabilities2 ,whereas1 in ,september #bjad1 ,,nasa completed the down selection process and awarded contracts under the ,commercial ,crew ,program to #b participants1 the ,boeing ,company and ,space,x1 for commercially built and operated integrated crew transportation systems2 ,whereas1 on ,january #ai1 #bjbj1 ,,nasa and ,space,x completed the launch escape demonstration of the ,crew ,dragon spacecraft and the ,falcon #i rocket1 which was the final major flight test of the ,crew ,dragon spacecraft before a demonstration flight to the ,,iss with astronauts from the ,united ,states2 ,whereas1 on ,may #cj1 #bjbj1 ,robert ,l4 ,behnken and ,douglas ,g4 ,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-#ace on ,july #h1 #bjaa2 ,whereas ,douglas ,g4 ,hurley had also served on the crew of ,,sts-#ace as the pilot2 ,whereas1 on ,may #ca1 #bjbj1 ,robert ,l4 ,behnken and ,douglas ,g4 ,hurley arrived safely at the ,,iss1 docking the ,crew ,dragon spacecraft to the ,harmony module of the ,,iss and joining ,expedition #fc as crew members2 ,whereas1 on ,august #a1 #bjbj1 ,robert ,l4 ,behnken and ,douglas ,g4 ,hurley departed the ,,iss after spending #b months as crew members of ,expedition #fc2 ,whereas1 on ,august #b1 #bjbj1 the ,crew ,dragon spacecraft safely splashed down off the coast of ,florida2 ,whereas the successful completion of the ,crew ,dragon ,demo-#b 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 time2 and ,whereas the continued leadership of the ,united ,states in space and space exploration is vital for-- 7#a7 both the national security and economic prosperity of the ,united ,states and the friends and allies of the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 the continued development and exploration of space for the benefit of humankind3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 congratulates the men and women of the ,commercial ,crew ,program of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration 7referred to in this resolution as ,,nasa7 and ,space ,exploration ,technologies ,corporation 7referred to in this resolution as ,space,x7 and astronauts ,robert ,l4 ,behnken and ,douglas ,g4 ,hurley on the successful completion of the ,crew ,dragon ,demo-#b test flight2 7#b7 honors the men and women of ,space,x and the ,commercial ,crew ,program of ,,nasa1 who worked tirelessly to design1 build1 and operate the ,crew ,dragon spacecraft2 7#c7 recognizes the contributions of all of the administrators1 astronauts1 engineers1 scientists1 and support staff-- 7,a7 who helped reach the milestone of the successful completion of the ,crew ,dragon ,demo-#b test flight2 and 7,b7 whose dedication and continued efforts will ensure the continued leadership of the ,united ,states in space2 7#d7 recognizes that ,,nasa1 through its programs of human space exploration1 including ,mercury1 ,gemini1 ,apollo1 the ,space ,shuttle ,program1 the ,international ,space ,station1 and the ,commercial ,crew ,program1 has inspired and continues to inspire generations of children to become engineers1 scientists1 and explorers1 which has led the ,united ,states to maintain its precedent of leadership in human space exploration2 and 7#e7 reaffirms the commitment of the ,senate to human space exploration for the benefit of humankind4