Bon voyage Garrett!

With the successful launch of Endeavour almost 4 hours ago we've seen another Irish connection soar into space.

Garrett Reisman is on his first trip into space and will remain on board the ISS for 7 weeks, returning to Earth in May.

I met Garrett a number of years ago when he visited TCD to give a lecture during a space week there. Garrett mentioned to us over dinner he didn't expect to get a flight as there were 55 other trainees recruited into the astronaut corps the same time as him! Happily, he's now got his trip. Bon voyage Garrett!

(oh, I forgot to say that it was his 40th a few days ago ... a journey into orbit is a very nice birthday present to get!)

bio ... www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/reisman.html

Wiki ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Reisman

All that is news to me John, thanks for sharing. I see from his bio that (as you mentioned too) he is up there for 7 weeks. Seems short for an ISS astronaut, and obviously longer for a space tourist. The ISS is going to be busy all the same in that time frame - "During his time onboard the ISS he will have seen two visiting Space Shuttles and the installation of the Special Purpose Dextrious Manipulator (SPDM) and the pressurized section of the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo".".

I wouldn't mind being up there with him all the same.

Seanie.

Cool.

Pilot Gregory Johnson was in Dublin giving a talk I was at for Astronomy Ireland in DCU about four years ago too. Good to see him getting his first space flight at last.