Portman, NASA Administrator Bridenstine Visit NASA Facilities in Cleveland and Sandusky

Statement

Today, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), accompanied NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a visit to NASA's Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland and Plum Brook Station in Sandusky to view progress on the agency's Artemis Program -- its multi-year plan to return American astronauts to the Moon and eventually send manned missions to Mars.

"Today we saw firsthand the critical and innovative research and ground tests for the international space community being done right here in Ohio at NASA's facilities in Cleveland and Sandusky," Portman said. "The Glenn Research Center and Plum Brook Station have an economic impact of more than $1.1 billion in Northeast Ohio, and the work they are doing is crucial to NASA's Artemis Program, which will put the next man and first woman on the Moon by 2024 and lay the groundwork for future manned missions to Mars. I will continue to fight, as I have successfully in the past, to ensure these vital programs receive the full funding they need to carry out their mission."

This summer, Portman and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that they plan to introduce legislation in September to rename NASA's Plum Brook Station, the agency's test facility in Sandusky, after Neil Armstrong. Portman most recently visited the Plum Brook Station in 2017 as part of a tour of Ohio's military and space installations. He most recently visited NASA Glenn Research Center in August 2017, where he toured the facility and spoke to employees and their families as they gathered to watch to the solar eclipse.

Portman met with the Director of NASA Glenn Research Center in D.C. in February of this year to discuss NASA priorities. Last year, Portman sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of full funding of $712 million for the NASA Glenn Research Center, which was met and exceeded in the FY 2019 appropriations bill.

Portman has long fought to protect funding for the NASA Glenn Research Center. In 2015, when funding was in jeopardy that would have potentially eliminated the Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) program at NASA Glenn, Portman fought for and successfully helped preserve this vital program. The SEP program is an important priority for NASA's deep space exploration missions.

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