Embassy of Ukraine honors Ukrainian American astronaut (10/29/06)

Embassy of Ukraine honors Ukrainian American astronaut

by Matthew Dubas

WASHINGTON - The space shuttle crew of the Atlantis, mission STS-115, was honored on Monday, October 23, at the Embassy of Ukraine at a special reception. Representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Department of State, the media and members of the Ukrainian community were in attendance.

Ambassador Oleh Shamshur greeted the crew members, noting, "Your work was remarkable." Dr. Shamshur also said that he looked forward to collaborations between Ukraine and the United States on new space endeavors.

Greetings from President Yushchenko were presented to the first Ukrainian American astronaut, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, a commander in the U.S. Navy. Dr. Shamshur presented a painting of Kyiv's Pecherska Lavra and a song inspired by the work of Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper titled "Cosmic Seagull," with lyrics by Oksana Makovets and music by Volodymyr Hartman.

Dr. Shamshur said that with Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper taking a Ukrainian flag, a Plast Ukrainian scouting emblem and Ukrainian music into space with her, this demonstrated that "you are proud of your Ukrainian heritage."

Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper thanked the Ukrainian community for their support and spoke of her Ukrainian roots, telling the audience that her father came from a village outside of Lviv. "I never thought my father's dream (of our great successes) would come true for our family," she said.

Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper told the audience that she hopes to visit Ukraine in the near future. She then presented Dr. Shamshur with a photo display of the crew and a picture of Kyiv from space.

The crew members, Pilot Christopher Ferguson, Commander Brent Jett, Mission Specialists Daniel Burbank, Joseph Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper gave a presentation about the work accomplished during their 12-day mission. Mission Specialist Steven MacLean, a Canadian, was unable to attend due to his earlier visit to the Canadian Embassy.

Lynn Klein, assistant director for NASA, underlined the importance of these missions and said that, due to the Columbia disaster, there was a four-year break in missions. She added that a space station partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine would be very beneficial to the future of the space program.

Fellow Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner said of Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper: "She is a rising star in the space program. I guess you can say a new star is born. We look forward to many great things from her and more missions in the future."

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