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Famous Canadian astronaut to visit Memorial

by Michelle Osmond

Julie Payette, here suiting up for the shuttle launch in 1999, is the first astronaut from this country to board the International Space Station. (Photo by NASA)

The upcoming 2006 F. W. Angel Memorial Lecture is bringing Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette to the St. John’s campus. Ms. Payette’s topic for the event is Space Exploration ­ An Astronaut’s Perspective.

A native of Montréal, Ms. Payette was the eighth Canadian and the second Canadian woman in space, and the first astronaut from this country to board the International Space Station.

In 1992 the Canadian Space Agency selected Ms. Payette from more than 5,000 applicants to become one of four astronauts. She completed initial astronaut training in 1998 and flew on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1999, contributing to the building of the International Space Station by serving as a mission specialist, responsible for the station systems, and operating the Canadarm robotic arm while in orbit. Now, Ms. Payette is the chief astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency and has logged more than 900 hours of aircraft flight time.

Sponsored by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, the F. W. Angel Memorial Lecture was established at Memorial in 1967 through the generosity of the family of the late F. W. Angel and the firms with which he was associated. The series enables Memorial to bring an outstanding person to its St. John’s campus to speak on topics related to the profession of engineering and stimulating interest in this field among students, the academic community, and the general public.

The F. W. Angel Memorial Lecture takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. in the Inco Innovation Centre, room IIC-2001. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

For more information, visit the Engineering and Applied Science website at www.engr.mun.ca.

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