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Payette finally blasts off for space station rendezvous with fellow
July 16, 2009 – Canadian astronaut Julie Payette has finally blasted into orbit and is heading for the International Space Station.
July 16, 2009 By Administrator
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July 16, 2009 – Canadian astronaut Julie Payette has finally blasted into orbit and is heading for the International Space Station.
The space shuttle Endeavour carrying Payette and her six crewmates thundered into the skies over Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The launch had been postponed several times in recent days and weeks, thanks to various problems, including a hydrogen gas leak and persistent thunderstorms.
Payette's 16-day mission will see her kept busy taking part in experiments and operating three different robotic arms, two of them Canadian-made.
When the 45-year-old Payette arrives at the space station, she will be greeted by B.C.-born Bob Thirsk, marking the first time two Canadian astronauts have been on board the station at the same time.
The 55-year-old Thirsk is spending six months on the mammoth lab after arriving recently on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
