Space Foundation commends NASA on successful shuttle mission, looks to next steps

The Space Foundation congratulates Space Shuttle Discovery’s crew, NASA, and the entire shuttle team on a successful launch, mission, and landing. Commander Steven Lindsey, pilot Mark Kelly, and mission specialists Michael Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Piers Sellers, and Stephanie Wilson returned to Earth at 9:14 EDT this morning, successfully completing NASA’s second test flight.

“The ‘right stuff’ is thriving again at NASA,” said Space Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Elliot G. Pulham, commenting from the Farnborough International Airshow. “The first step in a bold new mission for exploration called for NASA to return the space shuttle safely to flight. NASA has done just that. Wasting no time, NASA is already preparing Atlantis for a late summer launch that will resume assembly of the International Space Station. The valuable science conducted there will prepare us for a return to the Moon and exploration to Mars and beyond.”

Space Shuttle Discovery began its 13-day mission to the International Space Station with a first-ever Independence Day launch July 4 from Kennedy Space Center. The mission achieved all of its goals, including delivering astronaut Thomas Reiter to the International Space Station, resupplying the station, and extending the mission an extra day to allow for a third spacewalk to test shuttle repair techniques.

Space Shuttle Atlantis and its STS-115 crew are scheduled to launch in a window that opens Aug. 28. For more information about both missions, visit www.nasa.gov.

About the Space Foundation

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, the Space Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that vigorously advances and supports civil, commercial, and national security space endeavors and educational excellence. The Space Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C., and Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Space Foundation’s signature event, the National Space Symposium, is scheduled for April 9-12, 2007, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. Along with partnering organizations, the Space Foundation also conducts Strategic Space and Defense, 10-12 Oct. 2006 in Omaha, Neb.; and Florida Space, Dec. 5-7, 2006, in Orlando, Fla. For more information, visit www.SpaceFoundation.org.