Skip to Main Content

Freshly selected to command the International Space Station, astronaut Chris Hadfield characterized the opportunity as a coup for Canada among nations exploring space. Hadfield will lead the station and its six crew during the latter half of a six-month stay that begins in December 2012.

“To be trusted with their lives and with that entire station on behalf of all the world’s space-faring nations, most specifically on behalf of Canada is a tremendous honour,” Hadfield said.

The announcement at Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, Que. on Thursday is another feather in the cap of Canada’s space program. Hadfield will be only the second non-American and non-Russian to command the station, a partnership of the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. Bob Thirsk became the first from this country to spend six months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

“Canadians have been known to achieve remarkable things on a limited budget,” said Professor Robert Zee (UTIAS), Director of the University of Toronto’s Space Flight Laboratory. “We’ve made numerous contributions to the international effort in space, not only in collaboration with other nations on specific missions, but also in building our own technologies and our own spacecraft, and having our own missions.”

Follow the link to read the full article on the Toronto Star website.

Media Contact

Fahad Pinto
Communications & Media Relations Strategist
416.978.4498