An astronaut aboard the next Soyuz crew has confidence in Russian space technologies

OTTAWA – Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, who witnessed the aborted launch of Expedition 57 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and is next on the list to fly a Soyuz plane, says that "I'm going to be flying a plane!" he is more confident than ever in Russian astronaut technology at the International Space Station.

St. James was originally scheduled to fly into space on December 20 on the 58th expedition; since the abortion, her next flight date has not been fixed. Yesterday (23 October) in Washington, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told the National Council of Space that he was confident that the next Soyuz flight would take place in December, the Russians are about to find the cause of the abortion that derailed the last crewed launch. October 11th.

"This [abort] It made me feel even more confident about how the Russians designed the Soyuz probe. It's very very solid, "said Saint-Jacques during an interview with Canadian media at the University of Ottawa, following a scientific event organized on Wednesday. (October 24) for children and adolescents. [In Photos: Space Station Crew’s Harrowing Abort Landing After Soyuz Launch Failure]

"Of course, space is hard and things will fail." But it was very reassuring to find that with a problem as misplaced at the right time, even though the crew was completely safe, search and rescue operations were fast, and they were reunited with their families in a few hours Congratulations to our Russian colleagues for a safe operation. "

Saint-Jacques added that teams from around the world are studying different launch scenarios to keep the space station crewed. One possibility is that his flight is launched earlier than originally planned, he said, but the crew will be ready. Saint-Jacques announced that he had completed his last training at NASA yesterday (24 October) and that he would be traveling to Russia later this week to take the training and qualification exams.

The Expedition 58 crew is already planning changes to the flight manifest, as there are two crew members on board in less than expected. As the maintenance of the station can not be ignored, the first thing to suffer will be the scientific experiments; Saint-Jacques declared that the hours devoted to science would decrease. In addition, NASA will probably not make any outings in the space unless unforeseen circumstances – or the agency strongly believes that an exit into space is not only necessary during the expedition 58, but that she will have a high probability of success.

In Canada, this space station flight is quickly attracting the attention of the country as it approaches the launch date. Over the last few months, more and more important groups of journalists have come forward during routine presentations of astronauts such as this one, to learn more about the work of St. James in the US. space. The Canadian Space Agency said it would be the last visit to Santiago in Canada before spaceflight.

Flight opportunities are rare in this country because the contribution of the Canadian space station (mainly in the form of robotics such as Canadarm2 and Dextre) represents 2.3% of the international partnership. This means that Canada only gets occasional flying hours; The last flight for a Canadian took place in 2012-2013, during which Chris Hadfield took command of Expedition 35.

Let's talk science

Saint-Jacques again publicly discussed abortion in two separate presentations to elementary and high school students in Ottawa. "I know the rocket is going to be exciting," he told the younger ones. "I hope it's not too exciting," he added, as adults in the audience burst out laughing.

Later, with high school students, Saint-Jacques explained briefly that an abortion had occurred two weeks ago due to a problem related to rocket boosters. "But for me, they're not going to do that, they're going to take us to orbit," he joked amidst the students' laughter.

In addition to talking about space exploration with student groups, Saint-Jacques was in Ottawa to launch a new scientific experiment that he will perform on the space station, with young people on the ground. The national non-profit scientific organization Let's Talk Science has created a programmable chip that allows students to measure the temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration in their classrooms. Saint-Jacques will take his own measurements in orbit; they will all be shared in a national database affiliated with Let's Talk Science at http://explorecuriocity.org.

This is one of the many initiatives Let's Talk Science will lead in association with the theft of St. James. Last year, the organization launched Little Inventors, an initiative encouraging students to design whimsical experiences for the use of space stations.

Speaking with high school students, Saint-Jacques explained his personal journey in space, from elementary school to doctor, to his training as an astronaut. He advised students to think about doing something daring in their lives, even if they did not finish as planned. The observation was relevant given the uncertainty surrounding the date of his flight.

"If you have a dream and put it in motion, something will happen and your life will run," he said, adding, "Do not be obsessed with the end result."

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