First Canadian Astronauts
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First Canadian Astronauts As a thank you and because the Canadarm has proven to be such a useful tool, NASA extends an invitation for a Canadian to fly in space aboard the Shuttle. The problem was Canada didn’t have any astronauts in 1983. So, in the same way other organizations advertise for employees, the Canadian government put an advertisement in all the national papers, recruiting Canadians to be astronauts. Over 5000 people answered the ad, six were selected. The original six Canadian astronauts were: Back Row: Ken Money, Roberta Bondar, Bjarni Tryggvason Front Row: Bob Thirsk, Steve MacLean, Marc Garneau Almost immediately two of Canada’s new astronauts are selected to go to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas to begin training. Marc Garneau is selected as the prime astronaut, with Robert (Bob) Thirsk as his back-up. The two will train as Payload Specialists for mission 41-G. Note: After STS-9, NASA changed the flight designation numbering system. Instead of designating each flight STS followed by the scheduled flight number, they used an awkward and very confusing system. Using 41- g as an example: the first number 4 represented the last digit of the federal fiscal year, the second number 1, represents the launch site ( 1 was the Kennedy Space Centre, 2 was Vandenberg Air Force Base -Vandenberg has never been used), and the letter G represented the scheduling sequence. G would mean that this flight was the 7th flight of that year. Marc’s flight 41- G would be STS-13. After the Challenger disaster NASA went back to the original numbering system starting at STS-26. Once a shuttle is scheduled and given a flight number, the number does not change even if the flight is delayed or moved. The last flight of Columbia was designated shuttle flight STS-107. STS-107 had been delayed for several years due to other flights to construct the Space Station being given priority. In actual fact STS-107 was the 113th shuttle mission. A payload specialist’s main task is to perform experiments (called payloads) while on orbit in the shuttle. A payload specialist requires little training, with the bulk of that training on how to perform the assigned tasks. Canada’s first astronaut, had to run a series of Canadian experiments, called Canex 1 ( CANadian EXperiments). These included observations of the Sun, taste tests, and tests to understand how the human body adapts to space. The Canadarm was used on mission 41-G but not by Dr. Garneau. As a Payload Specialist he was not trained to operate the arm. By the mid eighties Canada had committed itself to being a partner in the Space Station. In the same year Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean is selected to Shuttle mission STS-52. Among other duties, MacLean will perform the CANEX 2 series of experiments. On January 28, 1986 the Shuttle program came to a tragic halt when the Shuttle Challenger blew up 72 seconds after lift off. All seven astronauts on board were killed. A Canadarm was lost during the explosion. The cause of the tragedy is found to be faulty O rings on the shuttles solid rocket boosters. The Challenger disaster shuts down the shuttle program for two years while NASA and other agencies investigate and make changes for a safer Shuttle program. .