The Congressional Space Medal provide

Vice President Kamala Harris stands alongside former NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley after presenting them with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus in Washington, Jan. 31, 2023.
Harris said their work ushered in a new era in space, one of commercial space flight, after they conducted the inaugural NASA SpaceX Demonstration Demo-2 mission
It was the first time in nearly a decade that astronauts blasted into orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil, and it was a first for a private company.
Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken received the accolades in the first Congressional Space Medal of Honors awarded since 2006.
Hurley served in the Marines, and Behnken served in the Air Force. They were both military test pilots before joining NASA in 2000.
Harris chairs the National Space Council. She presented the award Tuesday during a ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (AP)