It was on this day, the 22 of January 1992, that Roberta Bondar joined an extremely elite group.
She blasted off as a payload specialist aboard the shuttle on STS-42 to become the first Canadian woman in space and the second Canadian .
But that title doesn’t really reflect the credentials of the Sault Ste Marie Ontario native, either as a scientist or her general experience and interests.
She studied for several years and after a PhD in neuroscience and then completing medical studies to become a medical doctor, an MD, she then began specializing in various aspects of neurology and neuro-opthamology, became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and now has some 22 honourary doctorates from various universities.
Other qualifications included certificates in parachuting and skydiving and studied professional nature photography in California and has published some four essay books of photographs, especially Canada’s National Parks.
She has also enjoyed flying, outdoor hobbies, and rifle and pistol target shooting.
She was selected by the Canadian Space Agency in 1984 for astronaut training and flew on an eight day mission to the space station to conduct medical research experiments there.
Following her flight she left the CSA and remained with NASA to lead a team of researchers studying the effects of space travel on astronauts towards understanding the body’s recovery from exposure to space and zero gravity.
She has since had schools and parks named after her and a special $25 collector coin from the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate her flight was unveiled in November 2016 and will be released in 2017.
In 2011 Bondar received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and would be inducted on October 1 at Elgin Theatre in Toronto. She was the first astronaut to receive the honour.
Dr Bondar was one of 60 women in space among some 537 astronauts. The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 3 in June of 1963, The first American woman was Sally Ride in June of 1983
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