Brazil Launches First Astronaut

Brazilians everywhere have been waiting a long time for this, and it is encouraging to see more nations become active amongst the stars.

(Space.com) "I've been waiting for this opportunity for seven years and now finally it comes," [Marcos Pontes] said during a press conference here at NASA's Johnson Space Center, adding that he originally trained to fly to the ISS aboard a NASA shuttle. "Besides all the scientific objectives for us from Brazil, it will be a very strong step for our space program."

Pontes will spend about eight days aboard the International Space Station. He will be performing scientific studies that vary from student experiments from Brazilian schools to nanotechnology tests on board.

Although unrelated, it appears that one of the astronauts, flight engineer Jeffrey Williams is a blogger.

(Space.com) "The schedule is very busy up there," Williams said, adding that three spacewalks, potentially two shuttle visits and absorbing a third crewmember makes for little down time. "But I personally know that it's important to get the word out to the public."

Despite a tight timeline, Williams said he hopes to spend some of his free time relating his spaceflight experience to the public through journals and log entries.

Although launching about the Soyuz, it will be interesting to receive a "first person's perspective" on what space travel is all about. This author will attempt to locate the link of Williams weblog, although assistance from the blogosphere would be greatly appreciated.

Note: Photo from Space.com



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