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The President: Hello, everybody!
Astronaut Scott Kelly: Hello, Mr. President.
Welcome aboard the International Space Station.
The President: Well, I am glad to be -- is this Scott?
Astronaut Scott Kelly: Yes, sir.
The President: Well, look, I wanted to call and just say how personally proud I
am of you and all that you're accomplishing.
You know, we are always inspired by the images of you guys at
work as you put some of the final pieces in place to make
ISS fully operational.
And you are setting such a great example with your dedication,
your courage, your commitment to exploration.
You know, these are traits that built America and you guys
personify them.
And Colonel Lindsey, it must be a great honor to be the last
commander of the Discovery.
You know, it's traveled more distance in space and spent more
time in orbit than any of its peers in the shuttle fleet,
so it's appropriate that it's performing this critical and
iconic mission and adding to the legacy by working on this ISS
assembly to full operations.
Commander Lindsey: Well, thank you, sir.
On behalf of the crew, it's -- you know,
it's a real privilege for us to get to fly Discovery on her
final mission.
And we are actually trying to calculate what the --
now we're going to land on a Wednesday and we're calculating
-- we think that when we land, we'll --
Discovery will have flown in space for 365 days,
so for a whole year, which is pretty incredible for a vehicle.
And she's been into space 38, 39 times and that's a pretty
incredible record, and she won't be forgotten for a long,
long time, we hope.
The President: Well, that's a remarkable, remarkable record.
And I understand that you've got a full compliment of 12
astronauts and cosmonauts that are on the line,
and I also understand there's been a lot of traffic up there.
We've got a vehicle from every partner that flies to the ISS, right?
So we got U.S., Russia, European Space Agency, and Japan.
You know, that's a pretty good metaphor for how we need to live
and work together productively in space and maybe back here on Earth.
So it's just a -- it's a great testament to the dedication of
you and your colleagues, making ISS function so smoothly.
And that's something that all the countries involved can be proud of.
Commander Lindsey: Well, thank you for that, sir.
And you're right, we have modules from every nation
participating and it is a testimony that, you know,
countries that can work together and build something,
and we really wish everybody'd come --
come up here and see this and they'd get an appreciation for
-- that all of these countries put together the --
probably the most complex thing ever built,
and built it in space, built it all and put it all together,
and you know what?
Everything fit the first time we tried it,
which is a pretty incredible engineering feat and just a
testimony to the cooperation between all the countries involved.
The President: I just want to congratulate everybody at NASA,
all the personnel, past and present,
who have spent untold effort in making the space shuttle
Discovery a unique part of our history in space.
And congratulations to all the other nations that are involved
in the ISS and we could not be prouder of what you guys are doing.
And let me say, Scott, I talked to Mark a couple of days ago;
it sounds like Gabby's making incredible progress and,
you know, we're just thrilled for them.
And so, they're always in our thoughts and prayers as well.
I know that's something that has been a deep concern to you as
well, so I just wanted to let you know that.
Astronaut Scott Kelly: Yes, sir, thank you.
She's a -- she's really a true inspiration to all of us and I
appreciate your words.
The President: Well, thank you, guys.
It is a tremendous accomplishment.
And Godspeed as you guys get back home safe and sound.
Astronaut Scott Kelly: Yes, sir.
Thanks for your time to talk to us today;
we really appreciate it.
The President: You bet.
Bye bye, everybody.