House Science and Technology Committee Members Attend Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour

(Washington, DC) Over night, the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-123) lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida en route to the International Space Station (ISS).

According to NASA, the shuttle crew will deliver the first section of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency’s two-armed robotic system called Dextre.

Leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology – including Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Nick Lampson (D-TX) led a delegation of Members of Congress to attend the launch at Kennedy Space Center.

While at Kennedy Space Center, Chairman Gordon hosted 10 teachers from his Middle Tennessee congressional district selected to attend a NASA workshop as well as the shuttle launch. Gordon worked with NASA officials to develop an itinerary the teachers can take back to their classrooms to build enthusiasm about math and science among their students.

Committee leaders offered the following comments on the launch and upcoming mission:

Committee Chairman Gordon:

“This is a great start to an important mission. I am pleased that a group of schoolteachers from my district in Tennessee were able to witness this exciting launch, so that they can carry that excitement back to their classrooms and help their students understand that studying math and science can help prepare them for challenging and important careers–whether in space or back here on Earth.”
Subcommittee Chairman Lampson: “The Endeavour mission marks another important milestone in the ongoing assembly of the International Space Station, and I want to wish the crew a safe journey and a successful mission. Space exploration is an investment in our future, and this mission is a very visible symbol of what can be accomplished.”

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO): “With the delivery of the Japanese Kibo laboratory, the International Space Station will have crossed an important threshold now that each of the ISS International Partners’ laboratories will be in orbit. I look forward to the expansion in research capabilities that this lab will provide, and to a continuation of the spirit of productive international cooperation that made it possible.”

The Committee maintains jurisdiction over U.S. civil space and aeronautics activity. For more information about the STS-123 crew and mission to the space station, visit NASA’s website.