HONORING THE LIFE OF MIKE MELVILL

HONORING THE LIFE OF MIKE MELVILL

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 56 (Wednesday, March 25, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 25, 2026)] [House] [Page H2686] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE OF MIKE MELVILL (Mr. WHITESIDES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. WHITESIDES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great pilot and an even greater human being, Mike Melvill, who passed away last week at the age of 85. Mike was a pioneer whose courage and skill helped open the final frontier. In 2004, the world watched in awe as he piloted SpaceShipOne into space, not once, but twice. In doing so, he earned the first FAA Commercial Space Astronaut Wings and became the first person to travel into space aboard a privately-developed spacecraft. While the world knew him as a legendary test pilot, I saw firsthand that he was also a man of deep human decency and profound kindness. Behind every record-breaking flight was a beautiful lifelong partnership. Mike and his wife, Sally, shared a wonderfully happy marriage that began as childhood sweethearts in South Africa and carried them through the early days of Mojave past the edge of space. Mike was as humble as he was talented. He opened up space for everyone. Mr. Speaker, I offer my deepest condolences to Sally and the Melvill family, and I wish Mike blue skies and tailwinds. ____________________