Full Text of HR0540 96th General Assembly
HR0540 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate John Cornelius | 4 |
| Houbolt on the opening of the Apollo/Houbolt Exhibit at the | 5 |
| Joliet Area Historical Museum on July 17, 2009; and
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| WHEREAS, John Cornelius Houbolt was born on April 10, 1919 | 7 |
| and spent a part of his childhood in Joliet; as a youngster he | 8 |
| was intrigued by the mysteries of flight and took to a hayloft | 9 |
| to experiment; he used an umbrella, and later built a glider | 10 |
| with makeshift wings attached to a baby buggy to further his | 11 |
| research; and
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| WHEREAS, After taking classes in mathematics and science at | 13 |
| Joliet Township High School and Joliet Junior College, he | 14 |
| received a local scholarship and went on to the University of | 15 |
| Illinois, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master | 16 |
| of Science degree in Civil Engineering; and
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| WHEREAS, He fulfilled his dream of becoming a pilot and | 18 |
| later earned his Ph.D. in Technical Sciences at ETH in Zurich, | 19 |
| Switzerland; on May 15, 2005 he received an honorary doctorate | 20 |
| from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and
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| WHEREAS, While working as an engineer at Langley Research |
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| Center in Hampton, Virginia, Mr. Houbolt came with an | 2 |
| alternative for NASA officials to contemplate as they | 3 |
| considered flight plans to put a man on the moon; NASA argued | 4 |
| for Earth Orbit Rendevous versus Direct Ascent; Houbolt's | 5 |
| decision came to be known as Lunar Orbit Rendevous; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Lunar Orbit Rendevous required two spacecraft to | 7 |
| link up a quarter-million miles from Earth; though many people | 8 |
| thought this idea was too complex and too bizarre, he continued | 9 |
| to argue for it and won over those who had previously been | 10 |
| against the idea; and
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| WHEREAS, Thanks to his work and dedication to the ideals of | 12 |
| John Houbolt, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked | 13 |
| on the moon on July 20, 1969; the Joliet Area Historical Museum | 14 |
| is unveiling the new exhibit with two-story exhibits, diagrams | 15 |
| and maps, audiovisual displays, and much more to tell the story | 16 |
| of John Houbolt and his vision; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 19 |
| congratulate John Cornelius Houbolt on this wonderful | 20 |
| occasion; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 |
| presented to John Cornelius Houbolt as a symbol of our respect.
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