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--Poem from mom goes upin space with Hadield By FANNIE SUNSHINE The Champion Eleanor Hadfield did- n'r know what she would sdy to her son in the few precious moments she had with him before the Shuttle Endeavour took off for the International *Space Station yesterday. 1tl wilI hi- spur <ilthe moment," she saId. Canadian a.stmonaut Chris Hadietd wiIl bei-ore the first Canadian in his- tory lu perlorru a space walk whcn hce leaves the shutîle to instaîl the Canadarm2, a robotic ai-m needed 10 complete the space station, The ai-m wilI pi-opel itself around the station structure like an inchworm, performing construction tasks beyond the reach of the smaller original Canadarîn on the space shutties. Boru in Sarnia but raiaed in Milton frmm the age of si-yen, Col. Hadfield grew up in the larming community of the town and was raiaed on aviation night fi-rn the stant. 1I waa a pilot with Air Canada tor 46 years and his (Col. Hadfield) brothers David and Phillip are also pilots," said Roger Hadfield in an interview trom the home hie shares with his wile Eteanor in rural Milton coi-lier in the month. "Between the thrce ol us we have 65 yeamî of llying esperience.'- 'fhi idea of' travelling int space appealed Io the- luure astrunaut allter watching Amnerican astronaut Neit Armstrong walk on (lie moouin 1969. The proud parents llew <tut lu Cape Canaveral, Flonida Tuesday for the launch at 2:40 p.m. yesterday and will returu home fosr a kew days hbelore heading oui again April 29 10, wateh the shutîle land the following day. Photo by GRAHAM PAINE Needless to, say, Chis Hadfield's parents Roger and Eleanor are proud of their son's accomplishments. "We won't really havi- lime 10 siec (mission number) t-shirts lu wear." Clis belon- tauncb because hi-s tn The astrunauts are "preîîy shaky" semi-sectusion but hopel'ully when i- when tbey lauJ and Col. Hadtii-td witt lands we'll see mure <il hîm," Ms need some time to i-adjusi lu Eartb Hadlield said while tlipping through living, bis lather said. one of si-yen sci-aphooku she's put "The backbone stretches. They together otf i-r son's accomplish- don't use their ais and legs when ments. lbey're Up thi-r and the muscle lune is "We're going 10 stand in the family gone." section (of the space centre) 10 walch But neither is worried theu- middIe the take-off and we have STS-100 son won'î be abI te, handle the mis- sion hi-cause tbis isln't the lirsi lun1e the 4 1 -year otd astronaut has hi-adein m space. In 1995, Col. Hadlield hecame the firsî Canadiari lu enter the Russian space station MIR and was alsu thie lîrst Canadiat lu uperate the Canadami i-imile in;înipulatîîr systeni in space. -We went lu thi- lauinchi the tIrst imie hi- wenî up,' Ms ttadlield said. -t thoughît 1would tee] liervous but i was su exhita-ating. There was a sense ut« achievement and cuphuria Juning the take-off. We know there*s the pus- sibilty of an accident but ymmu can't let lIat preoccapy yu You can walk acruss the street and gel hit hy a bus." Mi-. Hadlield adînitîed hie l'eI a lîttle apprehensive Juring the last taunch. "The whote ground shakes and you feet the hi-at froru the shutîte even lbough il's lhree miles away. t kept shaking aliter the take--off'. The- landing is also a sighl 1o seci hi-cause the sound bannier is broken." When the HaJIieIJ cild-en were growing up, Mr. HaJlield insisîed they keep aIl doors 10 their future open. "Sometimes il wasn'î easy for them 10 lake a particutar course in schoot but we were fortuntate the kids had lots of abiltiy. t kepî the pressure on theru." After attending MilIton District High School for tour years and then gradu- aling froru White Qaku High Schout in Oakville in t1977, Col. Hadfield i-ai-ni-J an honours bachelor of mechanical 'enginee-ring Iruru the Royal Mila-y Colt-gi- in Kingston in 1982 and complet-J a masters oft avi- ation sysîems at the U.niver-sity of' Tennessee in t1992. Si-etedJ by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) as one of four asti-o- nauts ouI of 5,000 applicants, Col. Hadlii-tJ was cnooIt- in nmission spe- cialist training ai the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. Chris He was bast a boy lîke other boys Gi-owing strong and tai Amidat bis broîbers and sisters At hîs parent's heck and caI Then, one moon-lit nighf of monder He saw a rockel soar He wal-hed a mon walk on the moon And knew that he would pour His lhoughts, dreams and ambitions Toward somelhîng very new To tua-n enough to qualify Himsell bo loin Ihat crew He accomplished ail he aimed fo- When, aller years ofl aIrain, Atantis hurled him skyward And hroughl him home again Now once more wattl be watching As Endeavour rises high Ou- hopes and prayers and wiahes Will go with him 1cm the sky We'l glory in his apace waîka And be prcmud cmf whal he's done Ou- tle lad's gone up and up Good luck, God-speed, dear son - Eleanor Hadfield Curr-ntty, i- works as a CAPCOM, the voic- of mission contol io shutîles iii orbit. Ms Hadlield gave bier son a po)em she svrmme lo- bis mission lu be takeîî up in flie shutîle witb hîni. Do the parents of the man who's about lu make history once- again con- sider their son tu hi- a hi-ru? "1 suppo)se hi- is a hi-ru,' bis father said. "We ni-i- hi-roi-s in Canada and we need Io recogniz- Iber."