Marc Garneau had already been strapped into his seat aboard the space shuttle Challengerfor two hours before hearing the countdown that would make him Canada鈥檚 first man in space.
Ten 鈥� nine 鈥� eight 鈥�
鈥淎m I ready for this?鈥� he recalls thinking 40 years ago. 鈥淵ou know that this is the beginning of something. All of Canada was looking.鈥�
Seven 鈥� six 鈥� five 鈥�
鈥淒id I tell my wife and my children that I loved them?鈥�
Four 鈥� three 鈥� two 鈥� one 鈥�
Blast off!
鈥淓ight-and-a-half minutes of a rock 鈥榥鈥� roll ride,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ife is not a totally safe experience.鈥�
Everything changed for Garneau after that Oct. 5, 1984 ascent, from his attitude toward risk to his attitude toward Earth. And Canadians, he said, woke up to a new reality: that their country was not only a participant in the race to space but a pacesetter.
Garneau reflects on that historic day 鈥� and his journey from space to politics 鈥� in his memoir 鈥淎 Most Extraordinary Ride,鈥� released Tuesday by Signal, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada.
鈥淢ost Canadians knew not very much about the Canadian space program,鈥� Garneau, 75, said in a recent interview.鈥漈hey were not aware that we were the third country to have a satellite in space.
鈥淭hey were really not aware that Canada was a leader. I鈥檝e used the last 40 years to point out 鈥� we are a space leader.鈥�
Garneau has done much more than that, including holding federal cabinet positions in Justin Trudeau鈥檚 Liberal government before retiring from politics last year. Before he became one of the first six Canadians to enter NASA鈥檚 astronaut program, the Quebec City native had earned a doctorate in electrical engineering and had a long career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Buthe saidnothing compares to the intensity of sitting in the space shuttle鈥檚 cabin, uncomfortably vertical, withoutmuch to do except think about the 44 million horsepower under his seat and the great unknown he was about to enter.
鈥淭he kinds of things you think about are wide-ranging. I was wondering what was going through (my family鈥檚) minds,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檇 trained hard but I knew that all of Canada was looking. Was I going to be able to live up to those expectations and make Canada proud? If I screw this up, this is not going to be a good confidence-builder in NASA for future Canadians.鈥�
Not only did he did make Canada proud, he built enough confidence that NASA flew him to space twice more and welcomed aboard other Canucks, including Roberta Bondar and Chris Hadfield.
Like many astronauts, Garneau鈥檚 view of the world was changed by the space shuttle鈥檚 view of the world 鈥� a bright blue marble floating in airless emptiness.
鈥淭he first view out the window is seared into my brain,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ver the period of my three flights I changed the way I see Earth. I see Earth from a global perspective.鈥�
Three hundred kilometres above the planet, circling it every 90 minutes, Garneau watched vast clouds of smoke from a burning Amazon rainforest. He saw plumes of sediment washing into the Mediterranean Sea from spreading deserts. He saw veils of yellow-brown smog over China, California and Lake Erie.
鈥淲hen you see that thin atmosphere and realize we鈥檙e filling it with greenhouse gases and pollutants 鈥hen you see these things, you realize, 鈥榃hat are we doing?鈥欌�� he said.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 take care of this planet, there is nowhere else to go.鈥�
Garneau remains proud of Canada鈥檚 contributions to space, from the Canadarm robotic arms to the guidance system on the James Webb Space Telescope.
But he warns that technology once dominated by a few countries is now becoming a crowded marketplace. Canada has to keep up, he said.
鈥淲e started out gangbusters,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are well respected in the world but guess what, other countries are putting a huge priority on their space programs.鈥�
South Korea, for example, now builds not only its own satellites but its own launch vehicles.
鈥淭here鈥檚 kind of a space race going on now,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good thing, because there鈥檚 so many good things that can be done in space to serve humans back on Earth.鈥�
Garneau said Canada has to stick with the spirit that he found sitting in his astronaut鈥檚 chair, waiting to boldly go.
鈥淎fter flying in space, life was not as intimidating for me. It gave me a sense of confidence and it gave me confidence to move forward in life instead of playing it safe.鈥�
