Canada in Charge: Astronaut Becomes 1st Canadian Space Station Commander

For the first time in history, a Canadian has taken charge of a space mission.

Chris Hadfield, an astronaut since 1992 with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), took command of the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday (March 13), assuming the lead of the orbiting outpost's 35th expedition crew.

"It is a huge honor and a privilege to me but also for all the people at the Canadian Space Agency ... and for my entire country," Hadfield said from on board the station during a change of command ceremony.

"So, for the International Space Station Program, all the international partners, thank you very much for giving me the keys to the 'family car.' We're going to put some miles on it but we'll bring it back in good shape," he said. [See astronaut Chris Hadfield's amazing space photos]

Hadfield, who is approaching his 100th day on the space station since launching in December, took over command from NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, who led Expedition 34. Ford and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin are set to leave the space station to return to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on Thursday evening (March 14).

"We're very proud of Chris," Ford remarked, after playing a recording of the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada," in Hadfield's honor. "We are very proud of Canada as our partner in this International Space Station. We are really proud most of all that the space station is such a fantastic example of international cooperation."

Canada is one of 15 partner nations that comprise the International Space Station program. As a part of its contribution to the complex, the Canadian Space Agency provided the orbital laboratory's robotic arm, the Canadarm2, as well as a two-armed robot named Dextre, which is also used to move and manipulate items outside the station.

Hadfield, along with NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko are scheduled to stay on the space station through May. They will be joined later this month by three new Expedition 35 crew members, including Chris Cassidy of NASA and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Aleksandr Misurkin, both with Roscosmos.

This is not the first time that Chris Hadfield has made Canadian history. In addition to his new role as the first Canadian space commander, Hadfield earlier set the record as the first Canadian to walk in space in 2001 and was the first of his countrymen to visit the International Space Station on that same mission 12 years ago.

"He's a uniquely talented person on the planet and now a uniquely talented person off the planet," said Ford.

Follow this link:
Canada in Charge: Astronaut Becomes 1st Canadian Space Station Commander