If
you were listening to shuttle radio communications Friday morning around 11
a.m. you didn't hear the usual tech-filled jargon between the space shuttle
Discovery crew and Johnson Space Center
in Texas.
It's not surprising as the people on the line weren't the usual technicians or
mission managers but visitors from Washington,
D.C.
NASA
supporters Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Rep. Tom DeLay
(R-Texas) stopped in Friday morning for a tour of Johnson Space
Center, which they both
help represent on Capitol Hill, and spoke for a few minutes just after 11 a.m.
EDT with Eileen Collins, commander of the Discovery.
"I
want to thank you for taking part in something bigger than all of us," said DeLay, House Majority Leader and one of the strongest
supporters the space agency has in Washington.
He noted the flight is the beginning of "the fulfillment of the president's
vision" to return to the Moon by 2020 and travel on to Mars. "The space program
is up and flying now and we are looking to the future."
DeLay made a point
of pointing out the mission demonstrated what could be done by United States
in space "with our international partners." Those partners have been warily
watching NASA deliberations about how many shuttle flights there will be to
finish the space station. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has pledged to shelve
the shuttle by 2010.
Collins,
on behalf of the crew, thanked DeLay, telling him
they were looking down on at "the beautiful earth" as the shuttle and
International Space Station sailed across the Atlantic
Ocean.
Hutchison,
chairman of the Senate Commerce subcommittee on science and space, took a more
personal approach, telling the commander she had visited that morning with
Collins' husband, who the senator said was struggling with the aftermath of
having had to buy school supplies for the couple's children for the first time.
Hutchison
told the crew that "everybody on earth is so excited about everything you are
doing" and praised the crew for "a great return to flight."
DeLay, who watched
the shuttle's launch on Capitol Hill with a group of fellow congressional space
supporters, told the crew several times he looked forward to their safe return,
planned for Monday morning, Aug. 8.
At present, the only major
concern, aside from the typical risks associated with flying the shuttle back
to Earth, is weather at Kennedy
Space Center
where the orbiter will land at 4:46 a.m. EDT ( 0746 GMT).
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