and of those in aviation and space first, think of the wright brothers, charles lindbergh, dr.erick, but father of modern rocketry -- robert goddard, the father of modern rocketry, and our pottery's today. -- honorees today. it and i -- and i dare say that we will be giving this gold medal to the first crew that will land on the planet mars. ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive. as a matter of fact, it is a part of us. it is our character as the american people to be adventurers and explorers. and we will not ever give that three out. indeed, in the honoring of these astronauts, we foretell the future, the greatness, the discovery, the expressing of ourselves as a people -- pioneers, adventurers, and explorers. ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the ranking member of the united states senate committee on commerce, science and transportation, and the senior senator from the state of texas, the hon. kay bailey hutcheson. >> we are honoring four brave, but determined, resilience men. day, and the astronauts to follow, took the enormou