Portal:Space exploration/Biography/Week 42 2006

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Captain (N) Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau CC, CD, Ph.D., FCASI (born February 23, 1949) was the first Canadian in space. He has taken part in three flights aboard NASA Space shuttles. He was the president of the Canadian Space Agency until he entered politics as the Liberal candidate in Vaudreuil-Soulanges for the 2006 federal election.

He was born in Quebec City and was educated there and in London, England. He gained a degree in engineering physics at the Royal Military College of Canada in 1970 and a doctorate from Imperial College London in 1973.

He joined the Canadian Navy in 1974 to work as an engineer. He first served as a systems engineer aboard HMCS Algonquin (DDH 283) until 1976. From there he went as an instructor to the Canadian Forces Fleet School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He worked with the Naval Engineering Unit and in 1982 he was promoted to commander.