A series of firsts for Stefanyshyn-Piper in space (09/17/06)

A series of firsts for Stefanyshyn-Piper in space

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper on Saturday, September 9, became the first Ukrainian American to fly in space when the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 11:14:55 a.m. (EDT).

Two days later, Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper (U.S. Navy) became the eighth woman, the seventh American woman and the first Ukrainian American to walk in space.

Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper, once an active member of the Ukrainian community of St. Paul-Minneapolis, carried with her into space a Plast emblem, which intertwines scouting's fleur-de-lis with Ukraine's national emblem, the tryzub (trident).

A former member of the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, she had asked the Minneapolis Plast branch for the "Plastova lileyka" so that she could take it with her on the 11-day STS-115 mission.

Mission Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe Tanner, Dan Burbank and Steve MacLean, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, comprise the crew of the mission, the 116th space shuttle flight for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the 27th flight for Atlantis.

Atlantis, which lifted off after two weeks of delay due to weather and technical glitches, docked with the International Space Station in the early morning hours of Monday, September 11, to begin the task of resuming the station's construction.

The astronauts were awakened at 11:15 p.m. (CDT) on September 11 to "My Friendly Epistle," a poem by Taras Shevchenko set to music, that was played for Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper.

She and fellow Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner began the mission's first spacewalk early the next morning after spending the night in the airlock in what is known as a "campout" in preparation for their activities outside the spacecraft. The campout protocol helps rid astronauts of nitrogen in their bloodstreams and aims to shorten their final spacewalk preparations.

According to information on the NASA website, the crew successfully completed the deployment of a new set of solar arrays at the International Space Station.

Mission Specialists Tanner and Stefanyshyn-Piper, on Tuesday, September 12, went on the first of three spacewalks whose goal it is to hook up and activate a 17.5-ton, 45-foot-long truss with a set of solar arrays that will increase the station's power.

The new arrays span a total of 240 feet and have a width of 38 feet. They are attached to the station's newest component, the P3/P4 integrated truss structure, which was installed two days earlier.

The third and final space walk of the STS-115 mission was planned for Friday, September 15, when Mission Specialists Tanner and Stefanyshyn-Piper are to work on the station's truss segments to release the photovoltaic radiator restraints, deploy Solar Alpha Rotary Joint braces and install an external wireless TV transmission antenna.

One of about 100 American astronauts, Mission Specialist Stefanyshyn-Piper, 43, is married to Glenn A. Piper; they have one son, age 16. The family lives in the Houston area, and Ms. Stefanyshyn-Piper has tried to maintain her Ukrainian community contacts via the Ukrainian American Cultural Club of Houston.

Chief Scout Lubomyr Romankiw of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, in a September 9 letter addressed to Plast members, wrote: "Ukrainian Plast is proud that Astronaut Heidemarie-Stefanyshyn-Piper, who was tapped to take part in such an important mission, came out of our ranks. On behalf of Ukrainian Plast members around the world, we wish our colleague success in completing a task of such international importance and a safe return."

Dr. Romankiw noted in his letter that Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper was an exemplary member of Plast's Minneapolis branch who attended Ukrainian scout camps as a child and teenager, and later served as a Plast counselor.

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