Robert Thirsk - CSA Career

CSA Career

Thirsk was in the family medicine residency program at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Montreal when he was selected in December 1983 by the National Research Council of Canada to join the Canadian astronaut program. He began astronaut training in February 1984 and served as backup payload specialist to Marc Garneau for space shuttle mission STS-41-G, which flew October 5 to 13, 1984. He has participated in several parabolic flight experiment campaigns on board NASA’s KC-135 aircraft and has been involved in various projects relating to space medicine, the International Space Station, mission planning, and education with the Canadian Space Agency. He led an international research team investigating the effect of weightlessness on the heart and blood vessels. His team designed and tested an experimental "anti-gravity suit" that may help astronauts withstand the effects of extended spaceflight on the cardiovascular system.

He served as Chief Astronaut of the Canadian Space Agency in 1993 and 1994. In February 1994, he was crew commander for the CAPSULS mission, a simulated 7-day space mission that involved the participation of several international investigators and three other Canadian astronauts. In 1994-95, Thirsk completed a sabbatical year in Victoria, British Columbia. During this year, he upgraded his skills in clinical practice, space medicine research and Russian language training.

On June 20, 1996, Thirsk flew aboard space shuttle mission STS-78 (the life and microgravity Spacelab mission) as a payload specialist. During this 17-day flight aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, he and his six crew mates performed 43 experiments devoted to the study of life and materials science. Most of these experiments were conducted within the pressurized Spacelab laboratory module situated in the orbiter’s payload bay. The life science experiments investigated changes in plants, animals and humans under spaceflight conditions. The materials science experiments examined protein crystallization, fluid dynamics and high-temperature solidification of multi-phase materials in microgravity.

While on STS-78, Thirsk wrote two columns for the Calgary Sun newspaper. This was the first occasion in which an astronaut wrote and filed a story to a newspaper—and had it published—while the astronaut was still in orbit.

In 1998, Thirsk was assigned by the Canadian Space Agency to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to pursue mission specialist training. This training program involves advanced instruction on both shuttle and space station systems, EVA (spacewalking), robotic operations, and Russian language. Within the NASA Astronaut Office, Dr. Thirsk served as a CapCom (capsule communicator) for the International Space Station (ISS) program. CapComs participate in actual and simulated space missions as a communication link between the ground team at Mission Control and the astronauts in orbit. CapComs speak directly with the space station crew, and assist with technical planning for the mission and last-minute troubleshooting.

In October 2004, Thirsk served as the commander of the NEEMO 7 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for eleven days. As a back-up crewmember, Thirsk replaced fellow CSA astronaut Dafydd Williams, who had previously served as an aquanaut on the NEEMO 1 mission, due to Williams undergoing review of a temporary medical issue. Williams eventually served as the commander of NEEMO 9 in April 2006.

In 2004, Thirsk trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre near Moscow and became certified as a Flight Engineer for the Soyuz spacecraft. He served as backup Flight Engineer to European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Roberto Vittori for the Soyuz TMA-6 taxi mission to the ISS in April 2005. During the ten-day mission, Thirsk worked as Crew Interface Coordinator (European CapCom) at the Columbus Control Centre in Germany.

Thirsk was a member of the Expedition 21 crew on the International Space Station. He launched as a Flight Engineer on the Soyuz TMA-15 Soyuz mission on May 27, 2009, as a member of the Expedition 20 crew. He was the first Canadian astronaut to fly on a Soyuz. About this mission, Thirsk is quoted saying "It will be the supreme thrill of my life. Throughout the mission I will examine the long-term effects of zero gravity as both a test subject and a physician. My findings will undoubtedly contribute to the future understanding of space station living." He returned to Earth on Soyuz TMA-15 in November 2009.

During the ISS 20/21 flight, he was visited by two other Canadians: Julie Payette (Space Shuttle Endeavour STS 127) and space tourist Guy Laliberté on Soyuz TMA-16 at the end of September 2009. The meeting between Thirsk and Payette in July 2009 was the first time two Canadians met in space. He and the Soyuz TMA-15 crew returned to earth December 1, 2009.

On 12 April 2011, Thirsk was awarded the Russian Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" - for outstanding contribution to the development of international cooperation in manned space flight. In 2012, he was made a Member of the Order of British Columbia.