A Most Extraordinary Ride
Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream
A captivating and inspiring memoir by Canada's first man in space.
On October 5th, 1984, Marc Garneau made history. Blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle and reaching a speed of 28,000 km/hour, he became the first Canadian to fly to outer space. That monumental achievement, now etched in Canadian history as one of our country’s proudest moments, inspired a nation and ushered in a new era of space exploration for Canada. Twenty-four years later, Garneau made history yet again, becoming the first astronaut to be elected as a Member of Parliament.
In between those two milestones in Garneau’s unprecedented career, he was the first Canadian, and the first non-American, to serve as CAPCOM, the voice of…
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October 8, 2024MARC GARNEAU has distinguished himself in three distinct fields. As a naval officer with the Canadian Armed Forces, he spent 10 years as a combat systems engineer. In 1984, Garneau became the first Canadian astronaut to go to space and, from 2001 to 2005, was president of the Canadian Space Agency. As a federal politician, he has served as Liberal house leader, Minister of Transport and Minister of Foreign affairs. He lives in Montreal with his wife, and has four children.
