Political Quotes

“this past week, parts of our country could gaze proudly upon the stars and see the outlines of space shuttle Discovery's historic 37-feet fly-by rendezvous with Russia's MIR space station. This shuttle mission, which was completed on Saturday, was historic not just because it was a dress rehearsal for the shuttle-MIR docking in June but also because it contained a number of firsts. Discovery's mission not only paved the way for the first of seven shuttle flights to dock with MIR, but its crew of six included Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman ever assigned to pilot a shuttle, and Dr. Bernard Harris, the first African-American astronaut ever assigned to a spacewalk. Ever since Sally Ride lifted off and became the first American woman in space, our space shuttles routinely have carried female crew members to perform research, spacewalks, repairs, and other functions. Nineteen other women, before Eileen Collins aboard Discovery, had flown on shuttles but none had ever piloted the spacecraft. To commemorate this historic event, dozens of female pilots converged at Kennedy Space Center to watch Lieutenant Colonel Collins' launch. Inspired by the civilian women Air Force pilots who delivered planes to airfields during World War II, Lieutenant Colonel Collins made a point of inviting them as living examples of how far women and our Nation's aeronautics and space program have come.”