• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Canadian Astronaut Makes Final Preparations for Altantis Shuttle Mission

Posted on: Friday, 25 August 2006, 21:00 CDT

By BETH GORHAM

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (CP) - Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean and his Atlantis crewmates were making final preparations Friday for a weekend shuttle launch heading to the International Space Station.

The six astronauts counted down to a Sunday liftoff as pelting rains ushered storms into the coastal Florida area and lightning struck the launch pad.

"Right now, we don't see it as an issue," said launch director Mike Leinbach, adding all systems were being rechecked.

The storm, said U.S. air force Lieut. Kaleb Nordgren, will likely move off before the scheduled 4:30 p.m. EDT launch. He estimated a 40-per-cent chance weather would nix NASA's plans, with a 20-per-cent chance Monday.

"We're ready to go," said Benoit Marcotte, director of the Canadian Space Agency's station program.

NASA won't launch if there are storms within 37 kilometres of the shuttle landing runway, in case astronauts need to make an emergency landing.

MacLean, 51, who was born in Ottawa, has been training for this mission - his second - for more than four years, including countless hours of training underwater and on virtual simulators.

The highlight is his walk in space on Day 5 of the mission.

It will be the 19th shuttle visit to the half-finished research station, the first since the Columbia disintegrated on re-entry in February 2003, halting the project.

The last two NASA shuttle flights have been dedicated to fixing the problem of foam insulation debris that damaged Columbia.

"NASA has done an en excellent job of recovering from that particular accident and now their shuttle is safer than it's ever been," Marcotte said in an interview.

The installation mission is "absolutely vital," he said.

"It's one of the major pieces of the puzzle at this point."

And while Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space in 2001, said there's no guarantee there won't be some problems with foam, he also cites MacLean's flight as much less risky than past ventures.

"This is a far, far, safer flight than Steve rode on last time (in 1992)," Hadfield said in a telephone interview from a cosmonaut training centre near Moscow before flying to Florida to attend the launch.

And all the training means MacLean is prepared for whatever happens.

"This is not just raw bravery," said Hadfield.

"You're not throwing yourself in front of a machine-gun. This is an extremely long-time calculated risk that Steve is taking in order to accomplish something he thinks is vitally important."

MacLean, who now lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife Nadine and their three teenagers, will be munching on foods like dried peas and peaches, vanilla pudding, chicken fajitas and lasagna during the 12-day mission.

He'll need to keep up his strength for manipulating the robotic Canadarm2 on the station during the rigorous work of installing a huge truss or brace the size of a bus with solar panels to boost the orbiting station's power.

MacLean will inspect Atlantis for damage using a Canadian-made inspection boom. There's also a Canadian vision system that helps operators of the robotic arms.

On the spacewalk, scheduled to last about 6 1/2 hours, MacLean will be installing components like a rotary joint so the solar panels can swivel toward the sun.

He'll be joined by mission specialist Joe Tanner. Also onboard is Atlantis commander Brett Jett, pilot Chris Ferguson and mission specialists Heidemarie Stephanyshyn-Piper and Dan Burbank.

Canadian flight controllers will cover about 50 per cent of the shifts to closely monitor the work back on Earth, said Marcotte.

The contentious space station project began in 1998 with the joining of two U.S. and Russian pressurized modules. Barely half-finished, it will eventually be as big as a five-bedroom house.

NASA needs to finish it before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010 and there are only 15 flights left.

Three astronauts are waiting for Atlantis on the station and have been packing up itmes what will be returned to Earth.

Canada is in discussions with NASA about having a Canadian on the station once it's capable of supporting six people, said Marcotte.

Scientists in Canada have been developing experiments to be delivered to the station.

Source: Canadian Press

More News in this Category