HR0013 LRB095 03322 HSS 23324 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate NASA astronaut
4 Joseph R. "Joe" Tanner, a Danville native, on a successful
5 career; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Mr. Tanner was born on January 21, 1950, in
7 Danville, to Drs. L.W. and Megan Tanner; he is an Eagle Scout
8 and was taught to fly by his father at the Vermilion County
9 Airport; he graduated from Danville High School in 1968 and
10 received a B.S. in engineering in 1973 from the University of
11 Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was a star swimmer; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He joined the U.S. Navy after college, earning his
13 pilot wings in 1975; he served as an advanced jet instructor in
14 Florida, before starting at NASA in 1984 as an aerospace
15 engineer and research pilot; and
 
16     WHEREAS, He has participated in four space shuttle missions
17 and has logged 43 days, 13 hours, and 15 minutes in space; he
18 has completed multiple space walks, including two on STS-82
19 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to service the Hubble Space
20 Telescope, and most recently on STS-115 aboard Space Shuttle
21 Atlantis to install solar panels on the International Space
22 Station; and
 

 

 

HR0013 - 2 - LRB095 03322 HSS 23324 r

1     WHEREAS, Mr. Tanner has been honored for his service with
2 the Military Aviation Hall of Fame Exceptional Service Medal,
3 the Stewart M. Present Flight Achievement Award, and the State
4 Flight Medal (NASA); he received the JSC Superior Achievement
5 Award and the Outstanding Alumnus of the Department of
6 Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of
7 Illinois, where he was also a top 100 graduate; and
 
8     WHEREAS, When he returns from a mission in space, Mr.
9 Tanner always goes to Danville-area schools to share an
10 astronaut's perspective with students; he and his wife, Martha,
11 live in Houston, Texas, with two sons, William and Matthew; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Mr. Tanner returned from STS-115, his most recent
13 space shuttle mission, on Thursday, September 21, 2006;
14 therefore, be it
 
15     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17 congratulate Joseph R. "Joe" Tanner on a successful career with
18 NASA, including four space shuttle missions; and be it further
 
19     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented to Mr. Tanner as an expression of our deepest respect
21 and esteem and with best wishes for the future.