2016 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 92
BY SENATOR HEWITT AND REPRESENTATIVE GAROFALO
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To designate Thursday, May 5, 2016, as "NASA Day" at the state capitol and commends the
National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) and the Michoud Assembly
Facility on the significant technical and scientific accomplishments made by them
which have positively impacted both the United States and the state of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, NASA and the state of Louisiana share a commitment to promoting the
growth of a well-trained aerospace workforce and to sustaining world-class manufacturing
capabilities, such as those at Michoud Assembly Facility at New Orleans, where work is
underway on NASA's Space Launch System, including the heavy-lift vehicle that will usher
in a new era of exploration and discovery beyond earth's orbit, in addition to the work on the
Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle; and
WHEREAS, Michoud Assembly Facility at New Orleans is the home of the 170-foot
tall, 78-foot wide Vertical Assembly Center, the largest spacecraft welding tool in the world
that is utilized to build the Space Launch System core stages; the facility contributed the
primary structure or hull of the Orion capsule, along with carbon fiber components of the
Launch Abort System, Service Module for the successful Exploration Flight Test in
December of 2014, and the facility is the current construction site of flight hardware for the
upcoming Exploration Mission 1 which is planned for 2018; and
WHEREAS, NASA and the Louisiana Space Consortium, LaSPACE, share the
common goal of fostering aerospace related, interdisciplinary science, technology, and
engineering research and education at Louisiana schools, colleges, and universities in an
effort to promote STEM education and jobs in the aerospace industry within Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, NASA and the state of Louisiana, in 2012, signed a five-year extension
on a $62 million agreement 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
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WHEREAS, NASA's Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business
Technology Transfer 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 technological areas and has
invested $1.8 million in nine Louisiana companies; and
WHEREAS, NASA spinoffs have benefitted Louisiana by facilitating the
decontamination of polluted soil and groundwater, providing forecasting models for storm
surge, weather, and fishing hotspots, enabling the remote, high-speed transfer of digital data,
and lowering costs and reducing manufacturing time for the prosthetics industry; and
WHEREAS, NASA created the Gulf of Mexico Initiative 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; NASA
has invested $19 million through Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences 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 exceedingly proud of their
state's critical role in the American space program and of the tremendous advances in space
exploration and scientific progress its cooperation with NASA has produced.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
designate Thursday, May 5, 2016, as "NASA Day" at the state capitol and does hereby
commend NASA and the Michoud Assembly Facility for their remarkable scientific and
technological contributions to the state of Louisiana and the United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
administrator of NASA.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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