Mike Pence: “soon after I was appointed the only freshman member of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the Committee on…”

“soon after I was appointed the only freshman member of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the Committee on Science, I determined to tour the Kennedy Space Center and witness the launch of a manned mission to space. Just before dawn on Thursday, July 12, I fulfilled that goal and was left not only with a profound sense of appreciation for those who make our space program work, but also with an enhanced sense of pride in being an American. We arrived at Cape Canaveral at midnight in the company of 9-year veteran NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. On the way to the launch site, our group of seven Members of Congress and their staffs was confronted with the sight of the Shuttle Atlantis, just one mile away. The shuttle and booster rockets stood straight up, steaming in the darkness, illuminated by billion-watt searchlights. With its 18 million pounds of hardware, fuel, and payload, the bright white craft stood, as Astronaut Edward Lu told me that evening, "creaking and steaming like an animal waiting to leap into space." Moments later, shortly after 1 a.m., an attack helicopter appeared, Mr. Speaker, flying low, search lights and guns sweeping the road between the astronauts' residence building and the 1 A launch site.”