One of Canada’s first astronauts has died.
Posted at 6:20 p.m.
The Canadian Space Agency has announced that Bjarni Tryggvason, one of the first six Canadian space travelers, has died at the age of 76.
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Mr. Tryggvason grew up in Vancouver.
He joined the Canadian space program in 1983 and flew his one and only mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1997.
During this 12-day mission, he made 189 orbits around the Earth, performing experiments on the atmosphere and the effect of spaceflight on shuttle equipment.
After leaving the program in 2008, he returned to teaching at what is now Western University.
In 2009, he flew a replica of the Silver Dart, the first heavier-than-air aircraft to fly in Canada.
His colleagues in the space program remember him as a meticulous engineer and inventor, and as someone who always had a spark of humor in his eye.
“Pilot, engineer, meteorologist, researcher, inventor, teacher and astronaut, Bjarni inspired an entire generation of Canadians to think big and aim for the stars,” the Canadian Space Agency wrote on Twitter.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield said he “lost a good friend”. “Pioneering astronaut, genius engineer, proud parent, inventor, test pilot. A kind, funny and original man, ”he said.