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
 
                            -2-      LRB093 10611 HSS 10897 r
 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.