November 5, 2020
OTTAWA—Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, will host two virtual conversations entitled “20 Years of Continuous Habitation on the International Space Station” to mark this week’s global achievement. Two live-streamed sessions will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2020, beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
The first long-duration crew arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on November 2, 2000. Since then, 240 astronauts from 19 countries have worked on the ISS, conducting construction missions, spacewalks and maintenance operations, and a multitude of research projects. The ISS is an orbital science laboratory and the largest human-made object in space. Its construction required more than 40 assembly flights over 13 years. The length of a football field, the ISS is comprised of 16 pressurized modules, with 4 pairs of giant solar arrays to generate on-board electricity.
The first session, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. EST, will be held in French with Charles Tisseyre, journalist-host of “Découverte.” The second session, from 3 to 3:30 p.m. EST, will be held in English with Bob McDonald, scientific journalist and host of “Quirks and Quarks.” Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in a separate live stream for both 30-minute conversations.
Mr. McDonald and Mr. Tisseyre are expert journalists, passionate about science and the future of human space exploration. Their expertise, combined with the Governor General’s first-hand experience as an astronaut, will bring a unique perspective to this talk on the 20th anniversary of continuous human presence in space.
Should you have a question for the Governor General or her guests, we invite you to submit your questions by email in advance of the event to rsvp2@gg.ca. We want to hear from you!
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The English live stream will be available at https://www.gg.ca/en/ggconversations.
The French live stream will be available at https://www.gg.ca/fr/ggconversations.
The recorded video will be posted online following the event at https://www.gg.ca/en/ggconversations.
Media information:
Ashlee Smith
Press Secretary to the Governor General
343-548-1857
ashlee.smith@gg.ca
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