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 Space
is for Kids
Dubeau is not far from the boy who loved the sky
and the stars. His curious nature makes him a great scout leader.
He's even created a new "Space Exploration" badge and is
happy to show and tell his troops all about the station. He's
not surprised by their questions, "Will it work?" And he likes
their confident belief that, "Yes, we're going to Mars." He considers
his own children uniquely lucky. Once he had two astronauts for
dinner and the "next day my son goes to school and says, 'Last
night, I was having dinner with two astronauts' and for him, it's
just normal, until the other kid says, 'What? You had dinner with
astronauts?'" Canada has only seven astronauts, so it's a historical
moment when one travels to space (like Julie Payette's visit  to
the station on STS-96).
Payette is in demand by everyone and Dubeau thinks she can positively
motivate kids to pursue their dreams (like she did). As a boy,
John Glenn and Neal Armstrong were personal inspirations for Dubeau.
It's
a Mission (not a Job)
"I need to enjoy what I'm doing," said Dubeau,
"I work hours and hours and I don't count the time. If it's fun,
there's no problem." He feels immensely privileged to meet and
work with the people that he does. "I believe all the astronauts
and cosmonauts--everybody building space station--are part of
the dream."  If
he ever gets to space station, "I'd take a window, look at the
dark sky, the stars and our planet from a different angle. I'd
like to see the planet as a global satellite going around the
sun."
Wish Upon a Space Station
By the end of 2001, the station will be at times
the third brightest star in the sky. Dubeau loves to watch it
fly overhead. Last August, the night before his daughter's wedding,
he invited the couple-to-be to just "look at the sky." As the
station grew brighter "It was a beautiful huge star coming over
Ottawa. My daughter asked me, 'What is it?' And I said, 'Well,
that's probably a special sign, wishing you good luck in your
marriage in the future.'
It's a good sign for all of our futures.
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