Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Space Shuttle program represents a national asset consisting of critical skills and capabilities, including the ability to lift large payloads into space and return them to Earth.
(2) The Space Shuttle has carried more than 355 people from 16 nations into space.
(3) The Space Shuttle has projected the best of American values around the world, and Space Shuttle crews have sparked the imagination and dreams of the world's youth and young at heart.
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) it is essential that the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the transition to new human space flight capabilities be done in a manner that builds upon the legacy of this national asset; and
(2) it is imperative for the United States to retain the skills and the industrial capability to provide a follow-on Space Launch System that is primarily designed for missions beyond near-Earth space, while offering some potential for supplanting shuttle delivery capabilities to low-Earth orbit, particularly in support of ISS requirements, if necessary.
(Pub. L. 111–267, title VI, §601, Oct. 11, 2010, 124 Stat. 2828.)
Sections: Previous 18327 18341 18342 18351 18352 18353 18354 18361 18362 18363 18371 18372 18373 18374 18381 Next
Last modified: October 26, 2015