MONTREAL - As NASA officials rush to fix a cabin leak in space shuttle Endeavour, the Canadian Space Agency is eagerly awaiting the launch of yet another one of their own into orbit.
Astronaut Dave Williams is scheduled to blast off on Tuesday for the second time in nine years and is also poised to set a Canadian record by spending 19 hours in space while performing three spacewalks.
The record is contingent on new technology installed on Endeavour, which has not flown in nearly five years. The shuttle has been refurbished and fitted with a cable to allow it to connect directly to the International Space Station's power system.
The extra power will ensure astronauts aboard the shuttle an extra three days in space and give Williams his crack at a third spacewalk.
"For me personally, as one of the main spacewalkers for the flight, I think I'll consider it a success when I've gone through the three spacewalks that I've scheduled to do and we've accomplished all those different objectives," Williams said in a pre-flight interview with NASA's website.
The 53-year-old Williams, who was born in Saskatoon and raised in Montreal, is part of a team of astronauts that will deliver and install a truss segment on the space station, which will hold a solar power array.
They will also install a new gyroscope, an electrically powered turbine that is one of four used to steer and steady the station.
Should all go according to plan, the seven members of the Endeavour crew are to arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, with the countdown clock scheduled to begin Saturday at 9 p.m.
Thus far, eight Canadian astronauts have flown in a dozen missions, including a record three by former Canadian Space Agency head Marc Garneau.
"This is not a science mission, it's a construction mission," said Douglas Watt, director of McGill University's aerospace and medical research unit.
"Certainly the highlight for (Williams) and the most significant event for the Canadian Space Agency are the three spacewalks."
"It's far more than any Canadian has done before and these are big events each time they occur. Canadian involvement in the space program as a whole is pretty strong because of the Canadarm and because we have a number of people like Dave who fly."
In 2001, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield performed two spacewalks and became the first Canadian to ever leave a spacecraft and float freely in space. He spent a total of 14 hours and 54 minutes outside over the shuttle.
NASA's planned launch of the Mars lander Phoenix could also interfere with Endeavour's flight.
The Phoenix has a three-week window in which to launch before facing a two-year wait. The mission already has been pushed back from a Friday launch to Saturday because storms delayed rocket preparations.
NASA will decide Sunday whether Tuesday's launch is feasible, a spokesman has said. NASA officials have also stated they want the Mars craft on its way before Endeavour departs.
The mission will have an educational component to it as school teacher Barbara Morgan heads off into space. She initially trained as a backup to Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died with six other astronauts aboard space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
In addition to the cabin leak, NASA officials have also had to deal with sabotage of a computer system on board the shuttle by a subcontractor, as well as accusations that at least two astronauts flew drunk in previous missions.
