Astronaut with local connection heading for space

Astronaut with local connection heading for space
Astronaut Andrew Feustel.

CORNWALL, Ontario – NASA has announced that Astronaut Andrew Feustel will launch into space in March 2018 when he goes to join the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). Feustel is the husband of Indira Bhatnagar, a graduate of Cornwall Collegiate Vocational School here in Cornwall.

Feustel’s in-laws Dr.Vijay Bhatnagar and Alena Bhatnagar are excited for their son-in-law and the new adventure that awaits him and his family.

"Thank you for all of your support dear family and friends," Dr. Bhatnagar said in an emailed statement. "Your mission: to spread the word, the news and the excitement of space exploration for the betterment of humankind! Hope you will come along with us on this exciting journey."

Andrew Feustel was first selected for the NASA Astronaut Program in 2000. In 2009 he was a part of the final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope by the space shuttle Atlantis. He also traveled to the International Space Station in 2011 on the space shuttle Endeavour, the last mission of that shuttle.

Feustel will be serving as a flight engineer on Expedition 55, and later as commander of Expedition 56.

He will be joined by Astronaut Jeanette Epps who will be the first African American member of the ISS crew.

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