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ROBERT (BOB) BRENT THIRSK (P.ENG., MDCM, MBA)
ASTRONAUT, CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY
PERSONAL DATA: Born August 17, 1953, New Westminster, British Columbia. Bob Thirsk is married with three children.
EDUCATION: Attended primary and secondary schools in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. Received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 1976, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1978, a Doctorate of Medicine from McGill University in 1982, and a Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1998.
EXPERIENCE: Dr. Bob Thirsk was in the family medicine residency program at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Montréal when he was selected in December 1983 for the Canadian Astronaut Program. He began astronaut training in February 1984 and served as backup payload specialist to Marc Garneau for the October 1984 Space Shuttle mission STS-41G.
Thirsk has been involved in various Canadian Space Agency projects including parabolic flight campaigns, space mission simulations and mission planning. He has led an international research team investigating the effect of weightlessness on the heart and blood vessels. He works with educational specialists in Canada to develop space-related curriculum for grade school students. Initiatives such as 'Canolab', 'Space for Species' and 'Tomatosphere' have allowed thousands of young Canadians to experience the thrill of scientific discovery.
In June and July 1996, Thirsk flew as a payload specialist aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-78, the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) mission. During this 17-day flight aboard the shuttle Columbia, he and his six crewmates performed 43 international experiments devoted to the study of life and materials sciences. The life-science experiments investigated changes in plants, animals and humans under space-flight conditions. The materials science experiments examined protein crystallization, fluid physics and high-temperature solidification of multi-phase materials in a weightless environment.
In August 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 involved advanced instruction on both shuttle and Space Station systems, EVA (spacewalk) skills and robotic operations. This year, Thirsk is training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow to become qualified as a Flight Engineer for the Soyuz spacecraft.
Within the NASA Astronaut Office, Bob serves as a CAPCOM (capsule communicator) for the International Space Station 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 the technical planning for the mission as well as last-minute troubleshooting.
JUNE 2004
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