In a bipartisan effort, 33 members of Congress jointly introduced legislation (H.R. 3245) on July 31 that would add the name of Neil Armstrong to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The legislation would redesignate the center as NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center and name the test range NASA Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range. While Armstrong is best known as the first human to step onto the Moon, he is also a former test pilot stationed at that center for 7 years.
The legislative effort was led by California Congressman Ken Calvert who was joined by 23 members of the California Congressional delegation -- Reps. Adam Schiff, Kevin McCarthy, Buck McKeon, Lois Capps, Zoe Lofgren, David Dreier, Wally Herger, Dana Rohrabacher, John Campbell, John Doolittle, Devin Nunes, Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, Daniel Lungren, George Radanovich, Elton Gallegly, Howard Berman, Edward Royce, Mary Bono, Darrell Issa, Brian Bilbray, Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa.
In additition, six members of the Ohio Congressional delegation -- Reps. Jim Jordan, David Hobson, John Boehner, Steven LaTourette, Ralph Regula, and Jean Schmidt -- as well as Reps. Nick Lampson (Texas), Ralph Hall (Texas), Tom Feeney (Florida) and Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) are original co-sponsors.
CSA recently led a grass roots effort that began in 2005 to redesignate the NASA center. That effort included letters of support from George Larson, founding editor of Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, retired NASA test pilot Bill Dana who is an Aerospace Walk of Honor inductee, and Dr. James Hansen, author of the only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong.
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