Introduced Version





SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION No.
________




DIGEST OF INTRODUCED RESOLUTION



    A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION memorializing the crew of the space shuttle Columbia and recognizing the values of the space program.



Miller




    _______________________, read first time and referred to Committee on








Introduced

First Regular Session 113th General Assembly (2003)


SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION



    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,

Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly

of the State of Indiana, the House of Representatives concurring:



    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.