093_SR0029
LRB093 10611 HSS 10897 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois were saddened to learn of the loss of the Space
4 Shuttle Columbia and its crew on February 1, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, The crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia was
6 nearing the completion of a 16-day mission dedicated to
7 science and giving us all a better understanding of the world
8 around us; and
9 WHEREAS, On shuttle mission STS 107 the Columbia was
10 manned by an international crew of six Americans, including
11 the first Indian-born woman astronaut in space, and the first
12 Israeli astronaut; and
13 WHEREAS, The Mission Commander was Rick Husband, a
14 colonel in the U.S. Air Force, formerly a test pilot and
15 veteran of one previous spaceflight, STS 96 in 1999 aboard
16 the Space Shuttle Discovery, who leaves behind a wife and two
17 children; and
18 WHEREAS, The Pilot on the mission was William C. McCool,
19 a commander in the U.S. Navy, formerly a test pilot who was
20 making his first spaceflight, and who leaves behind a wife
21 and three sons; and
22 WHEREAS, Michael P. Anderson, was a lieutenant colonel in
23 the U.S. Air Force, a former pilot instructor and tactical
24 officer, and a veteran of one previous spaceflight, in 1998
25 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which was the eighth
26 Shuttle Mir docking mission, and as Payload Commander he was
27 responsible for the success of the science mission aboard
28 Space Shuttle Columbia; and
29 WHEREAS, David M. Brown, was a captain in the U.S. Navy,
30 a naval aviator and flight surgeon, and this was his first
31 spaceflight; and
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1 WHEREAS, Kalpana Chawla, the Flight Engineer for the
2 mission was born in Karnal, India and emigrated to America in
3 the early 1980s, and she was aboard the Space Shuttle
4 Columbia on a mission in 1997 becoming the first Indian-born
5 woman to go into space; and
6 WHEREAS, Laurel Clark was a commander in the U.S. Navy
7 and a naval flight surgeon, she was making her first
8 spaceflight, and leaves behind a husband and a son; and
9 WHEREAS, Ilan Ramon was a colonel in the Israeli Air
10 Force, a former fighter pilot and a veteran of two wars in
11 defense of his nation, and was selected to be an astronaut by
12 the Israeli Air Force in 1997 and approved for flight by NASA
13 in 1998, and he was making his first spaceflight making him
14 the first Israeli in space, and he leaves behind a wife and
15 four children; and
16 WHEREAS, The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia is truly
17 an international tragedy; and
18 WHEREAS, The loss of the Columbia's crew will be mourned
19 by millions of people around the globe; therefore be it
20 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
21 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the loss of
22 the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and extend our
23 sincere condolences to their family, friends and the extended
24 NASA community; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
26 presented to NASA in order for this resolution to be
27 forwarded to the families of the flight crew.