Sense of Congress on the Space Shuttle program

U.S.C. Title 42 - THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2023 Edition Title 42 - THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE CHAPTER 159 - SPACE EXPLORATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND SCIENCE SUBCHAPTER V - SPACE SHUTTLE RETIREMENT AND TRANSITION Sec. 18361 - Sense of Congress on the Space Shuttle program From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov

§18361. Sense of Congress on the Space Shuttle program

(a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The Space Shuttle program represents a national asset consisting of critical skills and capabilities, including the ability to lift large payloads into space and return them to Earth. (2) The Space Shuttle has carried more than 355 people from 16 nations into space. (3) The Space Shuttle has projected the best of American values around the world, and Space Shuttle crews have sparked the imagination and dreams of the world's youth and young at heart. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) it is essential that the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the transition to new human space flight capabilities be done in a manner that builds upon the legacy of this national asset; and (2) it is imperative for the United States to retain the skills and the industrial capability to provide a follow-on Space Launch System that is primarily designed for missions beyond near-Earth space, while offering some potential for supplanting shuttle delivery capabilities to low-Earth orbit, particularly in support of ISS requirements, if necessary.

(Pub. L. 111–267, title VI, §601, Oct. 11, 2010, 124 Stat. 2828.)