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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are pleased to congratulate Belleville 
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astronaut Sandra Magnus on her trip into space aboard the space 
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shuttle Endeavour; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Sandra Magnus was one of seven astronauts that 
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lifted off on November 14, 2008 from NASA's Kennedy Space 
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Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard NASA's space shuttle 
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Endeavour; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The crew's main mission was to outfit the space 
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station to support larger crews and perform necessary 
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maintenance on the orbiting laboratory; the 15-day mission 
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began with liftoff at 6:55 p.m;

when the rest of the crew 
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returned home, she remained in space; she replaced Flight 
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Engineer Gregory E. Chamitoff, who returned to earth with the 
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Endeavour crew; and

 
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    WHEREAS, She stayed on the space station for at least three 
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months where she served as a flight engineer and NASA science 
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officer; she also performed biological experiments on herself 
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while aboard the space station; she held several 
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space-to-school teleconferences with local schools during her 
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time on the space station; the Endeavour crew packed about 
 


 






HR0471
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32,000 pounds of equipment to accomplish the main purpose of 
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its mission, preparing the space station for expansion; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Sandra Magnus has spent the past 10 years working 
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on pieces of the space station on the ground; although she 
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orbited the planet during the holidays last year, she was able 
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to teleconference with her mother on Thanksgiving and 
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Christmas; and

 
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    WHEREAS, During her time in space, she answered questions 
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posed by school children and adults and gave commentary about 
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her adventures; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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congratulate Sandra Magnus on her opportunity to travel in 
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space and wish her the best in all her future endeavors; and be 
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it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Sandra Magnus as a symbol of our sincere respect 
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and esteem.