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Regular Session, 2014 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 121
BY SENATOR CROWE
A RESOLUTION
To commend the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Michoud
Assembly Facility for their remarkable technical and scientific contributions made
to the state of Louisiana and the United States of America.
WHEREAS, NASA and the state of Louisiana share a commitment to promote the
growth of a well-trained aerospace workforce and to sustain world class manufacturing
capabilities, such as those at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where work is
under way on elements of NASA's Space Launch System, including the heavy-lift vehicle
that will usher in a new era of space exploration and discovery beyond earth's orbit and the
Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle; and
WHEREAS, NASA and the Louisiana Space Consortium (LaSPACE) share in
common the goal of fostering aerospace-related, interdisciplinary, science, technology and
engineering research and education in Louisiana schools, colleges, and universities in an
effort to promote careers in Louisiana in these areas of scientific endeavor; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, NASA and the state of Louisiana signed a five year extension
on an agreement, an investment worth sixty-two million dollars, to continue supporting the
National Center for Advanced Manufacturing which is located at Michoud and provides
research and advanced manufacturing technology for use in aerospace and commercial
markets; and
WHEREAS, NASA's Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business
Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program stimulates technological innovation by
encouraging small, high-tech companies, particularly minority and disadvantaged
businesses, to partner with NASA to help meet its research and development needs in key
technology areas, investing, to date, nearly six hundred thousand dollars in five Louisiana
companies; and
WHEREAS, NASA has inspired "spinoffs" which have benefitted Louisiana in the
decontamination of polluted soil and groundwater, providing forecasting models for storm
surge predictions, weather models, and fishing hotspots, enabling the remote transfer of SR NO. 121 ENROLLED
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high-speed digital data, and lowering costs and reducing manufacturing time for the
prosthetic industry; and
WHEREAS, NASA created the Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GOMI) to enhance the
region's ability to recover from the devastating hurricanes of 2005 and to plan for a
sustainable and prosperous future through the use of NASA earth science observations and
research and, since 2008, NASA has invested nineteen million dollars through Research
Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) to assist Louisiana's citizens throughout
the region to better understand the environment and make informed decisions; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of the state of Louisiana are indeed exceedingly proud of
their state's critical role in the American Space Program and the tremendous advances in
space exploration and scientific contributions made to the state of Louisiana and the United
States of America.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby extol the incomparable accomplishments of NASA and the Michoud Assembly
Facility and the remarkable technical and scientific contributions made by both to the state
of Louisiana and to the United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to be
to Charles Frank Bolden Jr., the administrator of the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE