Canadian astronaut to visit space station in 2009

A Canadian astronaut will be visiting the International Space Station next year.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice, the minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency, says mission specialist Julie Payette will head to the space station aboard the shuttle Endeavour in April 2009.

It will be Payette’s second mission in space; she was aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1999. She was Canada’s second woman in space after Roberta Bondar flew on Discovery from May 27 to June 6, 1999, and orbited Earth 153 times over 10 days while aboard the shuttle and the International Space Station.