21364 Jeremy Hansen (RMC 1999)
Ex cadet picked to launch new career as astronaut
Ailsa Craig treehouse used as spaceship
By RANDY RICHMOND, LONDON FREE PRESS
In the backyard of the family farm near Ailsa Craig, Jeremy Hansen made dials out of cardboard and turned his treehouse into a spaceship.
The next time he gets into one, the control panel will be more realistic.
Hansen, 33, born in London and raised in the area, was named one of Canada’s two new astronauts yesterday.
To those who watched him grow up, the news was exciting, but not surprising.
“It’s been a lifelong dream for him, to become a pilot and astronaut,” his mother, Nancy Hansen, said from the family’s Ingersoll home yesterday.
When he was only four, Jeremy visited the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida with his parents and told anyone who’d listen that some day he, too, would be flying.
In the backyard, he dreamed in the treehouse.
At McGillivray Central elementary school in Ailsa Craig, he haunted the school library for books on flight.
“Any book, anything we had on planes or aircraft, he just ate it up,” recalled Paul Swan, a former teacher/librarian at the school.
“He was very focused on the idea he wanted to become a pilot.”
At the time, Swan was converting the library catalogue to computers and whenever he needed someone to help with the computers or with audiovisual equipment in the school, Hansen was there to tinker.
“He just had a real knack for that kind of thing.”
But Hansen was no shy kid hiding among the projectors in the A/V room.
An active and athletic kid, Hansen played soccer and hockey.
“He was just a really good kid, friendly and outgoing. He never had a bad word to say about anyone,” Swan said.
After elementary school, the family moved to Ingersoll, where Hansen attended Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute.
“We never had a problem with him as a teenager. He was just an all-around good kid. He knew he had to work hard to get where he wanted,” his mother said.
Hansen joined Air Cadets Squadron 714 in London at 12, earned a glider’s licence at 16 and his pilot’s licence at 17.
There was no doubt what he was going to do after high school.
“He picked out the RMC (Royal Military College) in Grade 5,” his mother said.
At RMC in Kingston, Hansen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in space science, graduating as an air force graduate. In 2000, he earned a Master of Science degree in physics and orbital mechanics.
After several years of training, Hansen served as a CF-18 fighter pilot in several squadrons, most recently based in Cold Lake, Alta.
An advertisement for astronauts in The London Free Press about a year ago caught his mother’s eye.
Nancy Hansen scanned the ad right away and e-mailed it to her son.
He’d already seen the ad in another paper and was getting ready to apply.
Nancy Hansen said she could only guess what qualities in her son stood out for the Canadian Space Agency.
“Jeremy told us they were such a wonderful group of people. What set him apart we don’t know,” Hansen said.
If there was ever a kid who deserved to succeed, it was Hansen, said his former teacher/librarian.
“He had everything going for him. Parents who were very supportive and the drive and the smarts.”
Nancy Hansen and her husband, Gary, rushed to the computer to watch the announcement live online yesterday afternoon.
“I am higher than Cloud 9 today,” she said.
“We think he’s pretty special, of course. He is a very sincere individual. He is a very driven individual.”
As a fighter pilot’s mom, she has already become used to her son working in potentially dangerous conditions.
Now she faces the prospect of her only child exploring space.
“I know he is good at what he does. I have faith in him.”
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Aeroserve Technologies Receives Commendation for Improvements to Vehicle Aerodynamics
Aeroserve Technologies, the owners of Airtab®, was honored at the 25th Annual National Space Symposium Dinner on 2 April 2009 with a Recognition Award from the Space Foundation for work in improving vehicle aerodynamics. This ceremony was held at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The founders of Aeroserve are all from the RMC Class of 1973: 9758 Shawn Coyle, 9719 Kent Smerdon and 9657 Ron Davidson. This unique vortex generator was originally developed by Mr. Gary Wheeler, an American aerodynamicist and former race car designer. It was tested extensively by NASA for flow control and drag reduction and Aeroserve refined and commercialized the technology resulting in their Airtab® product range.
Airtabs are small, lightweight low drag vortex generators that help airflow to bridge the gap between tractor and trailer and to smooth the airflow at the rear of commercial Class 8 tractor-trailers. Fuel savings average 3% in extensive real world applications. Airtabs perform equally well on any square backed truck or vehicle, private or commercial that routinely reaches highway speeds. Due to the radical alteration of airflow patterns, users report greatly increased vehicle stability, less tire wear and better rear view mirror visibility in rain.
This commendation is part of the induction of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Aerodynamic Vehicle Design Program team into the Space Technology Hall of Fame.
The Space Foundation, in cooperation with NASA, created the Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1988. Its purpose is to increase public awareness of the benefits resulting from space exploration programs and to encourage further innovations in that field. To date, the Space Foundation has inducted 61 technologies and has honored the organizations and individuals who transformed space technology into commercial products that improve the quality of life for all humanity. Aeroserve continues to develop solutions for the transportation sector. Visit www.airtab.com for more information.
AirtabsTM are manufactured locally in Ottawa by L-D Tool & Die. WorldCrest Management Inc. of Ottawa markets Airtabs in Europe, Asia, Central and South America. Airtab, LLC of Loveland Colorado markets in Canada and the United States. Australasian Transportation Technologies markets to Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Questions please contact:
Email – techsupport@airtab.com
Ron Davidson, Aeroserve Technologies Ltd. Carp Ontario K0A 1L0
613-839-4679 1-800-475-2155
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Afghan army troops learn how to handle a Humvee
“The soldiers of the 205th are very active,” Bryski noted, pointing out that 60 per cent of the clashes in Afghanistan take place in the southern region.
13846 LCol Kevin Bryski (RMC 1983)
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Ex cadet to receive honorary degree from Queen’s University
2652 Brit Smith (RMC 1938)
One of Kingston’s most successful developers will receive an honorary degree from Queen’s University at the upcoming spring convocation.
Arthur Britton Smith, better known to Kingstonians as Brit Smith, is the founder and executive chairman of Homestead Land Holdings, the author of two books about local history, a former city councillor, lawyer and a war veteran.
He was also inducted into the Kingston Business Hall of Fame in 2006.