Mr. Speaker, all Canadians welcome astronaut Julie Payette who returned to earth yesterday after a successful mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery to deliver two tonnes of supplies, including tools, clothes, water and other supplies to the new international space station.
When Discovery emerged from the night sky at 2:03 a.m. above the Kennedy Space Centre, it was only the 11th time that a space shuttle had landed in darkness. Mission Control waited until almost the last minute before giving the seven astronauts approval to fire the breaking engines and come home.
Astronaut Payette worked gruelling 15 hour days to prepare to go into the space station on the way to fulfilling her dream. As Julie has said herself, there is no miracle recipe or magic road to follow, but one of the keys is to maintain a positive attitude and to be true to oneself”.
We are proud of Julie and welcome her home.