Dreier Praises NASA’s Decision on JPL-Managed Dawn Mission

March 27, 2006

WWASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, praised the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) decision today to reinstate the Dawn Mission, which is managed by the La Canada Flintridge-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The decision means that JPL will immediately re-staff the project.

"NASA’s decision today shows that the process works. The technical hurdles this mission has overcome in the course of its development are significant," Dreier said. "It is gratifying to see that the importance of this mission is recognized at the agency’s highest levels."

Scheduled to launch in 2007, the Dawn spacecraft will visit two of the solar system’s largest asteroids, Ceres and Vesta, during a nine-year voyage. During its mission, the spacecraft will observe the properties of the two asteroids providing insight into the formation of the early solar system.

NASA Headquarters had announced on March 2, 2006, that it was canceling the mission because of technical and programmatic concerns. The La Canada Flintridge-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) appealed the cancellation decision on March 6, and requested a review through NASA Administrator Michael Griffin’s office. Such appeals are invited and expected in cases where there are serious and unresolved differences of opinion between the institution managing a mission and NASA Headquarters.