Bidspirit auction | Astronaut Marc Garneau Challenger STS-41-G

Astronaut Marc Garneau Challenger STS-41-G signed commemorative cover. Missions: STS-41-G STS-77 STS-97. On December 5, 1983, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) announced Canada's first group of astronauts that were to fly on NASA's Space Transportation System. Garneau joined this first Canadian Astronaut Program (CAP) group, as one of six chosen from over 4,300 applicants. Of these six original astronauts, he was the only military officer. Garneau became the first Canadian to reach space on October 5, 1984, when Space Shuttle Challenger flew into low-Earth orbit. Garneau's first spaceflight was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, on the STS-41-G mission, from October 5 to 13, 1984. He was a payload specialist. He was promoted to the rank of Navy Captain in 1986, and left the Canadian Forces in 1989, to become deputy director of the CAP. In 1992-93, he underwent further training to become a mission specialist. He worked as CAPCOM for a number of shuttle flights and was on two further flights himself: STS-77 (May 19 to 29, 1996) and STS-97 (to the ISS, November 30 to December 11, 2000). He logged 677 hours in space.