Robert Thirsk is coming home to the University of Calgary — this time in the flesh.
The famed astronaut made history last summer as the first person to accept an honorary degree while floating hundreds of kilometres above the Earth.
Thirsk will return to the school today to accept his historic academic accolade in person. It was his experiences at the U of C studying mechanical engineering more than 30 years ago that helped launch his career as an astronaut.
The British Columbia native, who spent his high school years in Calgary at Lord Beaverbrook, is the first Canadian to log 189 days in space and fly in a Soyuz spacecraft.
Thirsk plans to show a movie depicting some of his cosmic experiences at next month’s event and answer students’ questions about the six-month mission and its aftereffects.
"Now that Bob is back on Earth, we will hand him his parchment and he is going to give us back the honorary degree hood that we shipped to him in space," said Catherine Bagnell Styles, the U of C’s associate vice-president, external relations.
"We will find a spectacular place to display it on campus, and I promise it will be one inspiring piece of cloth for future students and alumni."
Joining him will be fellow U of C alumnus and NASA surgeon Doug Hamilton, who studied medicine at the school and was responsible for Thirsk’s health while in space.
The 56-year-old arrived on terra firma Dec. 1 after a memorable six-month stint studying the effects of weightlessness on the human body. He also helped install new components on the space lab and operated the Canadarm.
tgignac@theherald.canwest.com
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