Members Hail Successful Discovery Launch – Applaud First All-Female Leadership of Shuttle and ISS

(Washington, DC) Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-120) lifted off earlier today from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle crew, commanded by Pamela A. Melroy, is on an ambitious mission to continue construction of the International Space Station (ISS).

Leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology – the Committee with jurisdiction over U.S. civil space and aeronautics activity – offered the following comments on the successful launch and upcoming mission:

Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN):

“We have indeed come along way as a nation of explorers when we can look to the sky and know that both the ISS and our space shuttle are being commanded by such extraordinary women. Commanders Peggy Whitson and Pamela Melroy are truly among the best in their field and we are especially proud of their efforts to advance U.S. space exploration. They are serving to inspire the next generation of female scientists and space pioneers and I wish them and the crew of STS-120 all the best as they embark on this most challenging of missions.”

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO):

“I want to wish the entire crew of STS-120 a safe and successful mission to the International Space Station. They have a very challenging and complex set of tasks awaiting them – many of them unprecedented. But their efforts will serve to add a ‘new room’ to the ISS and prepare it for the upcoming addition of the international laboratories. When the shuttle returns to Earth, we’ll also be able to welcome home Clayton Anderson – who has been aboard the ISS since June.”

For more information about the STS-120 crew and mission to the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle