Posted on 07/18/2009 9:12:16 AM PDT by buccaneer81
Canadian astronauts celebrate milestone Published Saturday July 18th, 2009
The Canadian Press
LONGUEUIL, Que. - A bear hug in space between two Canadian astronauts marked a history-making moment as Julie Payette floated into the International Space Station and was greeted by fellow Canadian Bob Thirsk.
It marked the first time two Canadian astronauts were in space together at the same time.
Payette was a member of the seven-member crew of the space shuttle Endeavour who arrived at the space station Friday afternoon after five technical and weather-related delays.
Thirsk was so excited about the Canadian rendezvous that he snapped pictures as the hatch linking the craft and the station was opened.
"It doesn't get better than that for Canada," said Steve MacLean, president of the Canadian Space Agency, after watching the historic moment through a link-up on a giant television screen at agency headquarters south of Montreal.
"Two Canadians, at the same time, being able to share the common value of looking at space, it's not a miracle, but it is amazing," he added.
MacLean noted that eight Canadians have now flown in space on 15 flights.
A video feed showed members of the space station crew ringing a ceremonial bell as the hatch opened, with camera flashes exploding as they hugged colleagues that drifted into view in a sort of interstellar family reunion.
There are now also a record 13 space visitors on board the space station, with Payette being the only woman.
Payette arrived armed with gifts to mark the moment, including a variety of Canadian treats for her colleagues, such as maple cookies, maple butter and Alberta beef jerky.
But she and Thirsk won't have a lot of time for pleasantries.
They will shortly have to shift their focus to the complex tasks before them during Endeavour's 16-day stay at the space station, namely the completion of construction on Japan's Kibo Laboratory.
Over five space walks, the two crews will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.
The collaborative operation was initially scheduled to begin last month, but was postponed after NASA discovered hydrogen leaks in Endeavour's fuel systems.
Mother Nature also thwarted efforts to get the shuttle off the ground as a series of electrical storms lingered dangerously close to the launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, cancelling the next three attempts.
Wednesday's launch took place under clear skies, but was not without drama.
A video camera mounted on the shuttle's external fuel tank showed chunks of debris flying off the tank during liftoff, hitting Endeavour's fragile heat shield.
As Endeavour's robotic arm expert, Payette will be part of the team assessing the impact of the debris and evaluating whether the shuttle sustained any serious damage.
Engineers have said a thorough evaluation could take several days.
Debris generated during takeoff has been a grave concern for NASA ever since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry in 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
Eh?
Welcome to the space party, Canada!
Cool, eh?
Ping.
No stubbies in space, eh?
MacLean noted that eight Canadians have now flown in space on 15 flights. “
Please don't forget they are riding on the USA’s decades of research,perseverance, bravery and last but not least OUR DIME
I believe the CSA pays for the seats for their astronauts on the shuttle, the same way we pay the Russians for going up on a Soyuz.
I was going to say “Space, eh?” but it looks like others were quicker with the general idea.
Doesn’t the CSA also have their own training programme?
The CSA trains all expedition astronauts on the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), which consists of three main elements: the Canadarm2, the mobile base and Dextre. This takes place at Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec.
Thanks. I knew that they underwent training in Houston, but I wasn’t sure as to what was the NASA/CSA proportion.
Please don’t forget they are riding on the USA’s decades of research,perseverance, bravery and last but not least OUR DIME
Decades worth of dimes.
On February 20, 1959, the Canadian government shut down the CF-105 Avro Arrow jet interceptor program, putting thousands of workers and the cream of Canada’s aerospace engineering talent out of work.
Most went to the United States. South of the border, a brand new organization called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was charged with putting U.S. astronauts into space, and it desperately needed engineers.
“Arrows To The Moon”, is the amazing story of the Canadian and British AVRO engineers that were whisked away to NASA on the eve of the cancellation of the ‘Arrow’ project.
http://www.avroarrow.org/AvroArrow/Avroengineers.html
“Please don’t forget they are riding on the USA’s decades of research,perseverance, bravery and last but not least OUR DIME”
Statements like this are what make the world hate us: ignorant, uninformed and arrogant. I suggest you actually do some research on our relationship with our space partners before resting your stomach on your keyboard...
And we have pumped more money in to the International Space Station project than many are aware of.
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