Hoyer Meets with Space Shuttle Discovery Crew

Discovery Crew: Andy Thomas, Charlie Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Rep. Hoyer, Eileen Collins, Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, and Jim Kelly.

Washington, DC – Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-05) welcomed the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery to Capitol Hill today.

"The American people should be proud of these seven brave astronauts and the fine job they did on what proved to be a daring mission. They provided an invaluable service to the United States' space program and to future space flights. We are grateful they achieved their objectives safely and successfully," Hoyer said.

The seven-member team arrived at the International Space Station on July 28 with the primary objective of testing and evaluating new safety procedures and conducting assembly and maintenance tasks on the Station. The crew was subsequently tasked with the first ever on-orbit repair of the Shuttle heat shield. After a two-week, 5.8 million mile journey in space, the orbiter and its crew of seven astronauts landed August 9 at California's Edwards Air Force Base.

Crewmembers of Space Shuttle Discovery include: Space Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly, and Mission Specialists Charles Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, and Andy Thomas.

###