Space policy of the United States own use of space; and countering, if necessary, space systems and services used for hostile purposes." The Clinton policy also said the United States would develop and operate "space control capabilities to ensure freedom of action in space" only when such steps would be "consistent with treaty obligations." The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred early in George W. Bush's term, leading to the report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board being released in August 2003. The Vision for Space Exploration, announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush, was seen as a response to the Columbia disaster and
Space Shuttle Atlantis U.S. manned space flight; first U.S. Shuttle-Russian Space Station Mir docking and joint on-orbit operations; and first on-orbit changeout of shuttle crew. When linked, "Atlantis" and "Mir" together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. Shuttle "Atlantis" also delivered several vital components for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). During the February 2001 mission STS-98 to the ISS, "Atlantis" delivered the Destiny Module, the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the ISS. The five hour 25 minute third spacewalk performed by astronauts Robert Curbeam and Thomas Jones during STS-98 marked NASA's 100th extra vehicular