|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, The nation lost a pioneer of its space program with |
|
the death of former Apollo 17 commander Eugene Andrew Cernan of |
|
Piney Point Village on January 16, 2017, at the age of 82; and |
|
WHEREAS, Gene Cernan was born in Chicago on March 14, 1934, to |
|
Andrew and Rose Cernan; he entered the Navy ROTC program as a |
|
student at Purdue University, and after receiving his bachelor's |
|
degree in electrical engineering, he became a test pilot and was |
|
assigned to Attack Squadrons 26 and 112 at the Miramar, California, |
|
Naval Air Station; subsequently, he earned his master's degree in |
|
aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School; and |
|
WHEREAS, One of 14 astronauts selected by NASA in 1963, Gene |
|
Cernan piloted the Gemini 9 mission three years later and became the |
|
second American to walk in space; he went on to serve as the lunar |
|
module pilot for the Apollo 10 mission, which descended to within |
|
eight nautical miles of the moon's surface and sent the first live |
|
television pictures from lunar orbit; in 1972, he commanded Apollo |
|
17, the final moon mission, and with his crewmate, spent more than |
|
three days on the lunar surface; they completed three remarkable |
|
excursions to craters and the Taurus-Littrow mountains, collecting |
|
250 pounds of rock and soil samples; when he climbed back into the |
|
module to depart, Captain Cernan became the last human to leave |
|
footprints on the moon, and for the rest of his life, he continued |
|
to advocate powerfully for the renewal of missions to other worlds; |
|
and |
|
WHEREAS, From 1973 until 1976, Captain Cernan assisted in the |
|
development of the joint U.S.-Soviet Union Apollo-Soyuz mission; he |
|
retired in 1976 and became executive vice president of Coral |
|
Petroleum before establishing his own consulting company, the |
|
Cernan Corporation; in addition, he coanchored ABC-TV coverage of |
|
the space shuttle program and served as chair of Johnson |
|
Engineering Corporation; he was inducted into the U.S. Space Hall |
|
of Fame and received a host of other accolades, among them the Navy |
|
Distinguished Flying Cross, an honorary doctorate of engineering |
|
from Purdue University, and the 2016 Neil Armstrong Outstanding |
|
Achievement Award from the National Aviation Hall of Fame; and |
|
WHEREAS, Captain Cernan shared a fulfilling marriage with his |
|
wife, Jan Nanna Cernan, and he was the proud father of Tracy Cernan |
|
Woolie, stepfather of Kelly Nanna Taff and Danielle Nanna Ellis, |
|
and the grandfather of nine; and |
|
WHEREAS, Gene Cernan made lasting contributions to our nation |
|
and to humankind through his historic role in the space program, and |
|
his accomplishments will remain a source of tremendous inspiration |
|
in the years to come; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Eugene Andrew |
|
Cernan and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; |
|
and, be it further |
|
R |
|
ESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Gene |
|
Cernan. |
|
|
Cyrier |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Speaker of the House |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 518 was unanimously adopted by a |
|
rising vote of the House on March 2, 2017. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
|