posted 02-12-2010 01:47 PM               

• On Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, the first Canadian woman in space, Roberta Bondar ran with the torch through downtown Toronto, Ontario.

• On Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010, retired Canadian astronaut Ken Money, Bondar's alternate for STS-42, reunited with his 1956 Olympics' Canadian track and field team members to carry the torch in Trail.

• On Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette carried the torch through North Vancouver.

Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar. Credit: The Canadian Press/Chris Young

• Former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, who before flying in space was on the USA Luge National "B" Team, raced in the 1988 Olympic trials and coached the 1988 Philippine Olympic luge team, is an honorary captain of the U.S. Luge team in Vancouver.
  

• Julie Payette was also on-hand Thursday, February 11, 2010 to mark the official opening of the "Sports in Space" exhibit at the West Vancouver Community Center Spirit Square, an official 2010 Celebration Site, for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games.

• On Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010, Apollo astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Gene Cernan and Thomas Stafford are scheduled to appear at the OMEGA Boutique located in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. OMEGA is the official timekeeper of the Olympics.

• Though no astronauts are involved, artwork inspired by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is on display as part of CODE Live, an 18-day event that features visual art, music, and performances fueled by digital technology and audience involvement. "We Are Stardust" is a two-screen projection installation that maps the sequence of 36,034 observations made by Spitzer during the five-year period from 2003 to 2008.

posted 02-12-2010 10:43 PM               

• Julie Payette was honored as one of eight prominent Canadians, including Donald Sutherland and Jacques Villeneuve, with carrying the Olympic flag as part of the opening ceremony.

Credit: Sandra Behne/Bongarts/Getty Images

posted 02-23-2010 01:25 PM               

The Original Space Cowboys in Vancouver

Three of the NASA's most storied astronauts were guests of honor at a cocktail party hosted by OMEGA in their lounge on the 14th floor of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on Sunday evening. Buzz Aldrin, Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan were joined by Solar Impulse founders and co-pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.

Before the festivities began, the astronauts and pilots posed for photographs with Omega president Stephen Urquhart at the brand's boutique in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and in Omega's bobsleigh located in front of the countdown clock in downtown Vancouver.

Guests included skeleton racer Amy Williams, who in Vancouver became the first athlete from Great Britain to win an individual Olympic Winter Games gold medal in thirty years and rower Sir Steve Redgrave who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games between 1984 and 2000.

Cernan, Aldrin and Stafford with Omega president Stephen Urquhart. Credit: OMEGA

Aldrin with Amy Williams and Sir Steve Redgrave. Credit: OMEGA

Cernan with Omega President Stephen Urquhart and Amy Williams. Credit: OMEGA

posted 02-23-2010 01:29 PM               

Heading to the Olympics. This Swedish Olympics Committee pennant went to space with me. I'll give it back now and hope it will bring luck the last days in Vancouver.

Credit: Christer Fuglesang