Nov 16, 2011

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

RELEASE: 11-390

NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN LAUDS APOLLO 11 CREW AND JOHN GLENN

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made these remarks today during a ceremony in the rotunda of the U S Capitol, where leaders of Congress honored astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins with congressional gold medals:

"As we embark upon the next great chapter of human space exploration, we stand on the shoulders of the extraordinary men we recognize today Those of us who have had the privilege to fly in space followed the trail they forged

America's leadership in space and the confidence that we can go farther into the unknown and achieve great things as a people rests on the achievements of these brave men

When, 50 years ago this year, President Kennedy challenged the nation to reach the moon, to 'take longer strides' toward a 'great new American enterprise,' these men were the human face of those words From Mercury and Gemini, on through our landings on the Moon in the Apollo Program, their actions unfolded the will of a nation for the greater achievement of humankind

Today, another young President has challenged us to reach for new heights and plan an ambitious mission to Mars Just as we called on the four individuals we honor today to carry out our early achievements in space, we now call on a new generation of explorers to go where we have never gone before

As we honor these heroes, I want to recognize the hundreds of thousands of dedicated NASA employees and industry partners who contributed to the incredible success of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs and all that has followed, and all that is yet to come

I also want to thank our Congress Our nation is a better place because of more than a half century of strong, bipartisan support for NASA's work in human exploration, science and aeronautics

Five members of the most recent Astronaut Candidate Class are with us today to pay tribute to the Congressional Gold Medal honorees, and build on their accomplishments to make similar, lasting contributions to our nation's space program

This new group of astronauts will redefine space exploration in the years to come and continue to honor the legacy of John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins

It is a lasting legacy - a legacy that continues to unfold and transform our modern world

The inspiration these four have provided to generations isn't something we can measure, but we can feel it in our hearts As a nation, we would not be the same without them and their bravery, their sense of duty and dedication to public service and their great skill at thinking on their feet

They changed the course of history and helped our nation to achieve the bigger things to which our greater nature aspires We owe them our humblest gratitude

On behalf of NASA and all the astronauts past and present, I congratulate and thank each of you - John, Neil, Buzz, and Mike, our Congressional Gold Medal recipients "

For biographies of the astronauts, visit:

http://www jsc nasa gov/Bios/astrobio_former html

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/NASA_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]