Dave Williams May Set Record for Canadian Space Walks

Updated 08/08/07

Canadian astronaut Dave Williams is on his second space mission. He's part of the STS-118 space mission headed for the International Space Station on board space shuttle Endeavour. The launch went as scheduled on Wednesday, August 8 at 6:36 pm EDT. An emergency doctor, neuroscience researcher and scuba diver, Williams' first venture into space was in 1998 on space shuttle Colombia. Called Neurolab, that mission was focused on performing experiments on the effects of microgravity on the brain and the nervous system.

This week's mission is more about construction than experiments as the crew will deliver and install a truss section for a solar power array to give the space station more power. As well as delivering cargo and supplies, the crew will be replacing a gyroscope, one of four electrically powered turbines used to steer and stabilize the space station. Dave Williams has reason to be eager for this space mission. He's never made a space walk before, and he's scheduled for at least two space walks and possibly three on this mission. If he does make a third, that will be one more than Chris Hadfield, who in 2001 made two space walks lasting a total of nearly 15 hours.

Photo: Canadian Astronaut Dave Williams
Dave Einsel / Getty Images

More About Canada in Space
Canadian Astronauts
A Canadian Space Walk
Canadarm 2 at Work
A Canadian Base in Space
NASA Pre-Flight Interview With Dave Williams