May 22, 2012

David Weaver Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1898 david s weaver@nasa gov

Phil Larson Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President 202-456-6043 plarson@ostp eop gov

RELEASE: 12-164

STATEMENT BY JOHN P HOLDREN, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ON LAUNCH OF FALCON 9 ROCKET AND DRAGON SPACECRAFT

WASHINGTON -- Following Tuesday's launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, John P Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, issued the following statement:

"Congratulations to the teams at SpaceX and NASA for this morning's successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting because it represents the potential of a new era in American spaceflight Partnering with U S companies such as SpaceX to provide cargo and eventually crew service to the International Space Station is a cornerstone of the president's plan for maintaining America's leadership in space This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA's resources to do what NASA does best -- tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit I could not be more proud of our NASA and SpaceX scientists and engineers, and I look forward to following this and many more missions like it "

For more information on the SpaceX flight, visit:

http://www nasa gov/spacex

For more information on the Office of Science and Technology Policy, visit:

http://www whitehouse gov/administration/eop/ostp

-end-

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