Astronaut - The Making of Dreams

Dr. Roberta Bondar

“When I was eight years old to be a spaceman was the most exciting thing I could imagine.”

A childhood dream to be an astronaut was realized when Dr. Roberta Bondar launched from Earth in January 1992 aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery as the first neurologist in space and Canada's first female astronaut. Representing the international scientific community, she conducted over forty advanced experiments for fourteen nations.

Back on Earth, Dr. Bondar and her team of researchers examined data obtained from astronauts on 24 space missions to better understand the mechanisms underlying the body's ability to recover from exposure to space.

Mission Facts

STS-42 Space Shuttle Discovery
January 22-30, 1992

14th flight of Space Shuttle Discovery, International crew, Experiments on the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-1)

Launch:
(Universal Time)
January 22, 1992, 14h 52m 33s
Cape Canaveral, Launch Complex 39-A
Payload mass:
28,602 lbs (13 001 kg)
Duration of flight:
8d 01h 15m 43s
Distance:
3,360 million miles (5,407 million km)
Revolutions around Earth:
129
Landing date:
(wheel stop, Universal Time)
January 30, 1992, 16h 08m 16s
Landing:
Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, California
Orbital parameters:
inclination: 57 degrees
period: 90.5 minutes
perigree: 180.8 miles (291 km)
apogee: 190 miles (307 km)
Crew:
Ronald J. Grabe
Stephen S. Oswald
David C. Hilmers
Norman E. Thagard
William F. Readdy
Roberta L. Bondar
Ulf D. Merbold

Download STS-42 Press Kit

PDF

Download Destiny in Space Kit

A collection of information, activities, and resources about exploring space for teachers of grades 4-12

PDF

Life in Space

Students and educators! Want more information on spaceflight? Check out these websites:

NASA- Day in the Life on the International Space Station

Canadian Space Agency - Living in Space

European Space Agency - ESA Kids Life in Space

Pre-space Flight

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Official portrait of STS-42 Payload Specialist Roberta L. Bondar.

Official Portrait - Download
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Going out to the launch pad with the STS-42 crew.
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Dr. Bondar walking out to the launch pad, waving her arms in the air (a CBC journalist was waving both the Canadian and the Girl Guides of Canada flag).
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NASA training jet T-38.
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Training at the WET-F (Weightless Environment Training Facility) at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
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Dr. Bondar in a single person life raft during a water bail-out training simulation at the WET-F (Weightless Environment Training Facility).
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Dr. Bondar speaking to the trainer at the WET-F.
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Dr. Bondar suspended from a parachute harness at the WET-F.

During Space Flight

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Dr. Bondar working with oak seedlings at the glove box during the IML-1 (International Microgravity Laboratory-1) flight for an experiment entitled “Roots and Shoots”.
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Dr. Bondar recording blood flow with a Doppler ultrasound on middeck. Stephen Oswald, the pilot, volunteered for this experiment of her own research on blood flow to the brain.
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Conducting a visual stimulator experiment.
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Clip from IMAX - Destiny in Space (1994).
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Former Girl Guide juggling Girl Guide cookies in space!

Post Space Flight

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Dr. Bondar’s arrival to her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie after her space flight (clipped from a video).
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50th space flight anniversary of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (second from the left). Other women in attendance include Chiaki Mukai-the first Japanese woman in space- (far left), Dr. Bondar on the right and Liu Yang -the first Chinese woman in space-(far right).