Pete Olson

Our nation’s space program achieved a significant milestone last week with the successful launch of the ARES 1-X test rocket. The six minute flight will provide engineers with extremely valuable information about hardware, facilities and ground operations and invaluable data from the hundreds of sensors on the vehicle....

But beyond what this flight will show engineers is what this flight shows to every American taxpayer. And that is this: America’s space program is building on its storied past and developing the next generation of vehicles that will enable our nation to remain the leader in human spaceflight.

There is much debate about the future of our nation’s space program, but there is no debate about the significance of last week’s achievement and that the work being done by the men and women of the Constellation program are helping to get the United States out of low earth orbit and back on the path of exploration. This flight was not just another page of NASA’s storied history, but a promise of future chapters of accomplishment in human space flight by the United States of America.Read More