HR0471 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0471 LRB096 13108 KXB 27475 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Belleville astronaut Sandra Magnus on her trip into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour; and

WHEREAS, Sandra Magnus was one of seven astronauts that lifted off on November 14, 2008 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard NASA's space shuttle Endeavour; and

WHEREAS, The crew's main mission was to outfit the space station to support larger crews and perform necessary maintenance on the orbiting laboratory; the 15-day mission began with liftoff at 6:55 p.m; when the rest of the crew returned home, she remained in space; she replaced Flight Engineer Gregory E. Chamitoff, who returned to earth with the Endeavour crew; and

WHEREAS, She stayed on the space station for at least three months where she served as a flight engineer and NASA science officer; she also performed biological experiments on herself while aboard the space station; she held several space-to-school teleconferences with local schools during her time on the space station; the Endeavour crew packed about 32,000 pounds of equipment to accomplish the main purpose of its mission, preparing the space station for expansion; and

WHEREAS, Sandra Magnus has spent the past 10 years working on pieces of the space station on the ground; although she orbited the planet during the holidays last year, she was able to teleconference with her mother on Thanksgiving and Christmas; and

WHEREAS, During her time in space, she answered questions posed by school children and adults and gave commentary about her adventures; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Sandra Magnus on her opportunity to travel in space and wish her the best in all her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Sandra Magnus as a symbol of our sincere respect and esteem.