NASA Space Station Crews Visit the White House

President Bush received a visit today from NASA. Among those making an hour long stop in the Oval Office were NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy, ISS Expedition 1 Commander Bill Shephard, Expedition 5 Science Officer Peggy Whitson, and Flight Engineer Daniel Bursch from Expedition 4. From the STS-113 crew: Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart, and Mission Specialists John Herrington and Michael Lopez-Alegria.

President Bush awarded Shepherd the Congressional Space Medal of Honor while Peggy Whitson has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

Photo Caption: President George W. Bush gives a tour of the Rose Garden to crew members of Space Shuttle Endeavour Mission STS-113 and Expeditions 1,4,and 5 Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003. The next orbiter launch will be Thursday, Jan. 16, carrying the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia Mission STS-107 to the International Space Station. White House photo by Tina Hager. [larger image]