Crew gears up for space construction marathon

Canadian's return to orbit
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette, 45, is the only non-American on Endeavour's crew and the mission's robotic arm expert, which is fitting since the main robotic arms on both the shuttle and the International Space Station were built by her home country. She first flew in space during a 1999 NASA shuttle mission and is eager to see how she'll react in orbit again.

"It's been 10 years since I've been in space," Payette said in a recent briefing. "I really wonder if my brain will remember what it's like to return to weightlessness."

As Mission Specialist 2, Payette will oversee some of the most challenging robotic arm operations, which include seven different handoffs of massive components between from one arm to another. She will also serve as the mission's flight engineer to aid Endeavour's commander and pilot during launch and landing.

A native of Montreal, Quebec, Payette is married to husband Billie Flynn and has two sons, ages 15 and 5.

She joined Canada's astronaut corps in 1992 and will join another Canadian astronaut, Robert Thirsk, in space after launching. Thirsk is part of the station's six-man crew. It will be first time two Canadians have been in space at the same time, with a third Canadian citizen — space tourist Guy Laliberte — slated to launch later this year.

"It does touch people and it is part of their lives," Payette said of Canada's space efforts. She plans to take some traditional cookies shaped like maple leaves and other national treats to mark the mission, she added.

Astronaut doctor
After years helping others cope with the medical effects of spaceflight, Endeavour astronaut Tom Marshburn is eager to experience them for himself.

"I've followed people flying in space for 15 years now, and to be able to experience some of those things ... I just can't wait to try it out and see how it works," Marshburn, 48, told Space.com.

A former emergency room doctor and NASA flight surgeon, Marshburn is Endeavour's Mission Specialist 3 and will perform three spacewalks during the flight. In addition to his medical degree, Marshburn holds degrees in physics and engineering physics and hoped from a young age to find a place at NASA.

"It was a little bit late in high school, and I thought, 'Boy, I'd love to work for NASA. I'd love to build rockets.' That's what I wanted to do, build spaceships," Marshburn has said. "I never thought I could be an astronaut actually, but I wanted to work for NASA."

Marshburn grew up in Statesville, N.C., and once backpacked from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Crest Trail. He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 1994 and was selected to be an astronaut in 2004. Marshburn is married to wife Ann and has a 6-year-daughter.

The spacewalk guru
The undisputed veteran of Endeavour's crew is also the shuttle's spacewalking chief — astronaut Dave Wolf — who will make his fourth trek in to space during the upcoming flight. In addition to two shuttle flights, Wolf also spent 128 days living aboard Russia's former space station Mir.

"I really feel like I'm going home to space," Wolf, 52, told reporters recently.

A veteran of four spacewalks, Wolf will serve as Mission Specialist 4 and the lead spacewalker during Endeavour's tricky construction flight. He will perform three spacewalks himself and choreograph the others after years of serving as chief of the spacewalking branch at NASA's Astronaut Office.

Wolf is from Indianapolis, Ind., and joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1990. He is a medical doctor and engineer, as well as a retired Air National Guardsman with a passion for acrobatic flying (he rebuilt his own plane) and recently built a motorcycle from scratch.

A penchant for tinkering is vital for astronauts tackling the "wall of spacewalks," more than 120 so far, to build the space station over more than 10 years, Wolf said.

"The wall was really hard, but in fact we made it...we got over it," said Wolf. "We have a lot of [spacewalking work] yet to go, we just know how to deal with it better."

Space station or bust
Rounding out Endeavour's crew is U.S. Army Col. Tim Kopra, a 45-year-old test pilot making his first trip into space. While Kopra will begin Endeavour's Mission Specialist 5, his true home is the station, where he plans to spend months living and working in space.

"I'm just really excited about it," Kopra said in an interview, adding that being an astronaut was on his childhood short list of lifetime goals. "I really couldn't be happier."

Kopra grew up in Austin, Texas, and has two children — a daughter, 13, and son, 12, — with his wife Dawn. He joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2000 and will perform one spacewalk while Endeavour is docked at the station.

As a NASA flight engineer, Kopra will replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata as part of the station's first full six-person crew. Wakata is Japan's first long-term space resident and has lived aboard the station since March. He will return to Earth aboard Endeavour while Kopra will ride another shuttle home in August.

"It'll be a little more of a personal place to work because there's more interaction with people," Kopra said of the larger staffed station. "We have a lot of space, but it needs to be carefully choreographed so that it works out."

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