Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques pumped for a long space mission

David Saint-Jacques is currently quarantined in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. On the surface, this might not seem like the most exhilarating experience.

But that will change on Monday, when the Canadian Space Agency astronaut leaves the Earth's surface, boarding a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan and heading for a six-month scientific investigation mission aboard the International Space Station . He has been training for two years for this mission.

Getting to the space station can be easier than taking part in a virtual press conference from Kazakhstan. But after initial problems with his microphone Thursday, Saint-Jacques, always smiling, recognized that he was pumped by space.

"These past two weeks have been interesting with last-minute preparations and, above all, checking the spacecraft," said Saint-Jacques, who will soon be joined by his wife and three children in Kazakhstan. "But everything looks great and we are in shape for the launch.

The 48-year-old resident of St-Lambert – he'll be 49 when he returns to this planet – will follow the rich tradition established by Canadian Space Agency explorers Marc Garneau, Roberta Bondar, Julie Payette, Bob Thirsk, Dave Williams, Steve McLean, Bjarni Tryggvason and Chris Hadfield.

Like the above, Saint-Jacques is quite outdated. He was selected in 2009 by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to travel to Houston and become a member of NASA's 20th clbad of astronauts. Previously, Saint-Jacques had also worked as an engineer, astronomer, astrophysicist, teacher and doctor. In the latter case, Saint-Jacques, a medical graduate from Laval and McGill and a doctorate in astrophysics from Cambridge, was a physician and co-director of medicine at the Inuulitsivik Health Center of the Inuit community of Puvirnituq in Nunavik.

And, oh yes, in addition to the two official languages ​​of this country, Saint-Jacques also speaks Spanish, Japanese and Russian, which has proved very useful in recent times to communicate on its temporary basis in Kazakhstan.

But blackmail is one of the few gifts he has not received. So, unlike Hadfield, do not expect Saint-Jacques to play with a guitar and twist David Bowie's Space Oddity or any other air while in space.

"I do not think I'm going to try to go beyond what Chris did in terms of entertainment," said Saint-Jacques. "It was his project. We are each going with our own personalities and our own ambitions. "

Saint-Jacques also admitted that there would be limited free time at the space station and that with a small crew, the burden would be more on mission-specific work and experiences, in his case concerning his medical history. But when given the opportunity, he will be eager to focus on "looking out the window and on the Earth below".

Last month, a Soyuz rocket bound for the International Space Station failed two minutes after takeoff in Kazakhstan, which caused a rather dramatic emergency landing, but the Russian cosmonaut and the American astronaut are returned unharmed. Whatever it is, Saint-Jacques is fully confident in his mission.

"Spaceflight requires all our attention to succeed. But what happened then shows once more that we have to deal with every detail.

"But frankly, what worries me most is that I will not be able to capture the present moment. I will appreciate the extraordinary aspect of the experience, but I am the kind of person who really cares about their work and the task at hand. So it will be my challenge to look up, look around and drop everything. "

Interestingly, Saint-Jacques noted that despite the training and conditioning required for astronaut preparation, time spent in space can have adverse health effects.

"Going into space is not good for you," said St. James, who will be doing research on the effects of microgravity on the body in outer space. "As a doctor, I know what can go wrong and how to control it. Fortunately, we have developed a lot of drugs. But that's one of the main goals of my visit to the space station, to monitor for myself the symptoms and effects, and how we can treat it. "

It will certainly have time to do it at the space station and, if necessary – in its combination, "a major human-shaped spacecraft" – for a walk to the outside and make repairs to the station.

Saint-Jacques went on to explain how he was struck by Canada's high profile in the space program around the world when he visited Houston nine years ago.

"Space is part of Canada's structure," he said, citing both the country's role in space exploration and robotics related to the famous Canadarm. "It's very moving to see how respected Canada is here. We are a trusted partner and we can be very proud of it. "

Saint-Jacques is still as impressed by the concept of space travel as by his childhood.

"I always see it as a sort of miracle that we were able to make these machines … and it's really a feat of human ingenuity to have these life support systems up there."

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Twitter.com/billbrownstein

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