England's Queen Elizabeth II is currently scheduled to visit Jamestown, Virginia this May in honor of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city.
However, according to a spokesperson for Mikulski, the Queen declined the Senator's previous invitation to visit St. Mary's City—the site of the fourth permanent settlement in British North America and Maryland's first capital. (See Mikulski Invites Queen of England to Visit St. Mary’s County, Feb. 20, 2007)
"I am so proud to welcome the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh to Maryland's world-class space facility, and to show Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the truly extraordinary contributions that Goddard makes to science, exploration and discovery," said Senator Mikulski. "When astronauts go out into space, they stand on the shoulders of Goddard. Goddard is the astronaut's communication lifeline, handling all communication between the shuttle and mission control. But they're not only important to the shuttle. The scientists, engineers and administrative staff at Goddard keep Maryland a leader in innovation by creating the building blocks that will carry us through the next decade and set the stage for the next century."