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- How Jim Fulton Saved the Space Shuttle | SpaceRef – Your Space Reference – Near a shaded street that winds through Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Pittsburg lay the grave of an Allegheny County native. More than a century ago, on March 1, 1903, James Grove Fulton was born in Allegheny County. Mr. Fulton distinguished himself as a fourteen-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, winning his first election while still in the Naval Reserve, in 1944. A lawyer by training, Mr. Fulton came to be intrigued by science, and in particular manned spaceflight. While in Congress, he also served in the U.S. delegation to the United Nations from 1960 to 1969 as an advisor on space.
Across his nearly 30 years in the Congress, Jim Fulton was a member of the Republican minority, but still passed many laws and was a popular member of the Pennsylvania delegation. But among his many achievements is one you might not remember.
Because, you see, James Grove Fulton saved the Space Shuttle. And therein lies a story of politics and compromise.
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