_______________________, read first time and referred to Committee on
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION memorializing the crew of the
space shuttle Columbia and recognizing the values of the space
program.
Whereas, On Saturday, February 1, 2003, the United States
endured another national tragedy;
Whereas, The seven member crew of the space shuttle
Columbia was lost as the craft disintegrated over Texas
during the last 16 minutes of a 16-day mission in space;
Whereas, The crew _ Commander Rick Husband, Shuttle
Pilot William McCool, Mission Specialist 1 David Brown,
Mission Specialist 2 Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist 3
Michael Anderson, Mission Specialist 4 Laurel Clark, and
Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon _ are all heroes;
Whereas, Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla, and Michael
Anderson were veterans of space flight, and William McCool,
David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon were making
their first voyage into space;
Whereas, Ilan Ramon was a colonel in the Israeli Air Force
and a national hero who was chosen by the Israeli Air Force
to join the crew of Columbia in 1997 and was approved by
NASA in 1998;
Whereas, A thought that may comfort the families of these space pioneers and the grieving citizens of the world during this time of great sorrow is that these brave men and women
died doing what they had dedicated their lives to accomplish
- space exploration;
Whereas, Their sheer joy and love of the space program
was reflected in each of their faces as the world watched as
they boarded the Columbia to begin their monumental
journey into space on January 16, 2003;
Whereas, Their journey was one of science, dedicated to
finding answers to questions that have plagued mankind and
possible cures to the diseases and pestilence that often result
in death and suffering;
Whereas, In the face of this tragedy the world should not
forget all the space program has accomplished;
Whereas, Because of space exploration, the development of
weather and communication satellites have enabled us to
better predict weather patterns and prevent unnecessary loss
of life due to hurricanes and other violent weather systems,
the technology developed for space photography has enabled
the advancement of CAT scans to better diagnose illness, and
the technology that is used in the smoke detector came about
because of knowledge gained from the fire on one of the
Apollo spacecraft;
Whereas, Such common items as WD40, Ziploc bags, and
radar have all been developed or improved because of the
knowledge that was gained through space exploration;
Whereas, In addition to the improvements in our daily
lives, NASA and the space program has bolstered the
economy of Indiana through contracts that had an economic
impact of $50 million dollars last year, making Indiana the
second largest space industry state in the Midwest and
ranking in the top half nationwide;
Whereas, Although our nation and the world have endured
a terrible loss through this tragedy, we should not lose sight
of the many contributions and improvements to both science
and industry that the space program has brought about; and
Whereas, Crew members of the space shuttle Columbia
were well aware of the dangers that are associated with
space exploration, and they faced them willingly. They
shared a noble purpose in life - service to all humanity:
Therefore,
SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly wishes to express
its sorrow at the loss of these seven brave men and women who had
dedicated their lives to the betterment of mankind and to express its
sympathy and good wishes to the family of these heroes. The nation
shares the grief and sorrow of these brave families and wishes to
convey to these family members that the crew of the space shuttle
Columbia will always have the respect and love of a grateful nation.
SECTION 2. That copies of this resolution be transmitted by the
Secretary of the Senate to the families of Commander Rick Husband,
Shuttle Pilot William McCool, Mission Specialist 1 David Brown,
Mission Specialist 2 Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist 3 Michael
Anderson, Mission Specialist 4 Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist
Ilan Ramon, and to NASA.