Marking the Occasion of the "New Horizons" Spacecraft Reaching Pluto

Floor Speech

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Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to mark the occasion of the New Horizons spacecraft reaching Pluto.

New Horizons launched on January 19, 2006, and since 2007, has been traveling steadily at 30,000 miles per hour. This morning, at approximately 7:49:57 a.m., the New Horizons spacecraft rendezvoused with Pluto, three billion miles away from Earth. Having just passed Pluto this morning, New Horizons will continue on in the Kuiper belt.

Standing here as the spacecraft just passed Pluto, I take great pride in noting that a Massachusetts astronomer helped in the discovery of its existence. While Clyde Tombaugh formally discovered Pluto, it was Boston astronomer Percival Lowell's calculations that led the way. The P and the L that make the astronomical symbol for Pluto serve as a testament to Lowell's part in the discovery of this small planet.

Lowell's contribution to astronomy also stands today with the establishment of the Lowell Observatory located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Percival Lowell inspired countless generations with his advocacy of astronomy, and more than 80,000 visitors each year go through the doors of the observatory.

I am certainly proud to have known Lowell's descendants, the Putnam family, for years; and I admire their continued advocacy of the Lowell Observatory.

New Horizons is the first in the ``New Frontiers'' series, inspired by another son of Massachusetts, President John Kennedy, who said about the need to explore space: ``We set sail on this new sea because there is a new knowledge to be gained, new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.''

President Kennedy's support of our Nation's first space program set us on course for hope and optimism for our future.

New Horizons' accomplishment this morning, along with other initiatives such as the International Space Station, which I am very proud to say that I supported and recall that in this institution, the space station survived by one vote at a precarious time in our history. It serves today as a strong reminder of the continued importance of space exploration and the very smart people that are drawn to this initiative.

I also want to close by saying that I would hope that we might remind ourselves of the optimism of the Kennedy years and the space exploration program which Kennedy highlighted and helped to inaugurate but which he never got to see many of the benefits of, a sentiment that all Members of Congress should grasp, and that is that the candidate who offers the best sense of optimism for the future is generally the candidate that prevails. During the course of a campaign when one makes arguments on behalf of a particular initiative, we are also to understand that it is part of forming a government. So optimism becomes infectious in our political system when embraced properly.

I hope today, as we celebrate this remarkable achievement of New Horizons and just the thought that that spacecraft travels at 30,000 miles per hour and the fact, at 3 billion miles from Earth, America's science, achievement, and initiative have once again prevailed in this world, that we will continue to support these space initiatives and embrace the notion and the role that science plays in our lives.

Thank you Percival Lowell, and thank you President John Kennedy.

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