Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques boarded the International Space Station Monday afternoon, declaring himself “astounded” by the journey and excited for the discoveries ahead of him.
After the hatch opened at 2:37 p.m. Eastern, Saint-Jacques and his two crewmates floated in from the docked Soyuz capsule, embracing the astronauts who have been at the space station since June.
“I am completely astounded by everything I have seen,” Saint-Jacques said during a brief conversation with family members on the ground at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan.
Speaking in French, he described his first sunrise seen from space as “breathtaking.” He said “it’s just the beginning” of the discoveries ahead of him.
Canadian Space Agency president Sylvain Laporte told the crew members there was “a lot of relief” when the astronauts entered the space station about two hours after docking.
“Although we knew that you were safe and sound, there was nothing like seeing you come through the hatch,” Laporte said.
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, herself a former astronaut, was also among those watching the launch in Kazakhstan. She offered Saint-Jacques a “Bravo, bravo, bravo” and told the space station crew they were an inspiration for humanity.
“The teamwork that you demonstrate today is exactly what we should replicate on Earth more often,” she said. “As the African proverb says, if we choose to go alone, we might go fast, but if we go together we go farther.”
The launch of the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft carrying Saint-Jacques, Anne McClain of NASA and Oleg Kononenko of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, appeared to go exactly as planned, lifting off at precisely 6:31 a.m. Eastern.
“We have liftoff,” a NASA television commentator said as the rocket roared into the sky under 930 pounds of thrust and at a speed of 1,770 kilometres per hour. “Everything looking good, vehicle is stable — good first stage performance.”
The crew reported that all went well in the critical initial minutes after liftoff.
Back on Canadian soil, a crowd monitored the launch from the Canadian Space Agency in Longueuil, Que., as the rocket began its trip to the space station.
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains praised the successful takeoff and said the mission offers an exciting opportunity for scientific research and developments that could have broad applications, in such things as robotics and aging.
“Space represents a lot of opportunities for a lot of Canadians,” he said at the agency office. “It really is inspirational what David represents…today is an incredible day in space.”
