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Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques addresses reporters at a press conference in Ottawa on June 2, 2015.
FRED CHARTRAND / THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL – Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques expects moments of tension during the launch next Monday of the Soyuz rocket that will lead, as well as two others, in the International Space Station.
On October 11, a rocket failure forced a Soyuz capsule carrying two astronauts to abort and make an emergency landing. Russia has suspended all human space launches pending an investigation before giving the green light to November 1.
Saint Jacques spoke to reporters today from the launch site in Kazakhstan, where he is quarantined. He added that the most dangerous part of the six-month mission is the 10-minute launch of Soyuz and the next six hours before docking.
He added that half of the last two years of training had been devoted to his role as co-pilot Soyuz during his trip to the space station.
Saint-Jacques, 48, once told the space station that he could focus on work and life aboard the outpost.
Canada's first astronaut space trip, with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Oleg Kononenkoof of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, was originally scheduled for launch on December 20. It was moved after the Russian authorities completed their investigation.
They found that a sensor on board the rocket had failed to properly report the separation of the first and second floors.
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