; Whereas after a fire occurred in the Apollo 1 capsule during ground tests on January 7, 1967, which resulted in the deaths of Edward White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee, the Committee held a series of oversight hearings into the cause; Whereas, as a result of these efforts, the Committee, in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1968 ( Public Law 90–67 ), required the establishment of the independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, resulting in the first time Congress addressed issues relating to space accidents; Whereas the Committee held extensive oversight hearings after the Space Shuttle Challenger and Space Shuttle Columbia accidents, and considered legislation related to space accident investigations that was referred exclusively to the Committee; Whereas chapter 707 of title 51, United States Code, established the Human Space Flight Independent Investigation Commission, pursuant to provisions from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 ( Public Law 109–155 ) and in response to the Space Shuttle Columbia accident; Whereas the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (referred to in this resolution as the Board ) found [I]t is unlikely that launching a space vehicle will ever be as routine an undertaking as commercial air travel—certainly not in the lifetime of anybody who reads this. ; Whereas the Board continued by reporting Columbia’s failure to return home is a harsh reminder that the Space Shuttle is a developmental vehicle that operates not in routine flight but in the realm of dangerous exploration.