Marc Garneau had already been strapped into his seat aboard the space shuttle Challengerfor two hours before hearing the countdown that would make him Canada91裸聊视频檚 first man in space.

Ten 91裸聊视频� nine 91裸聊视频� eight 91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淎m I ready for this?91裸聊视频� he recalls thinking 40 years ago. 91裸聊视频淵ou know that this is the beginning of something. All of Canada was looking.91裸聊视频�

Seven 91裸聊视频� six 91裸聊视频� five 91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淒id I tell my wife and my children that I loved them?91裸聊视频�

Four 91裸聊视频� three 91裸聊视频� two 91裸聊视频� one 91裸聊视频�

Blast off!

91裸聊视频淓ight-and-a-half minutes of a rock 91裸聊视频榥91裸聊视频� roll ride,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淟ife is not a totally safe experience.91裸聊视频�

Everything changed for Garneau after that Oct. 5, 1984 ascent, from his attitude toward risk to his attitude toward Earth. And Canadians, he said, woke up to a new reality: that their country was not only a participant in the race to space but a pacesetter.

Garneau reflects on that historic day 91裸聊视频� and his journey from space to politics 91裸聊视频� in his memoir 91裸聊视频淎 Most Extraordinary Ride,91裸聊视频� released Tuesday by Signal, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada.

91裸聊视频淢ost Canadians knew not very much about the Canadian space program,91裸聊视频� Garneau, 75, said in a recent interview.91裸聊视频漈hey were not aware that we were the third country to have a satellite in space.

91裸聊视频淭hey were really not aware that Canada was a leader. I91裸聊视频檝e used the last 40 years to point out 91裸聊视频� we are a space leader.91裸聊视频�

Garneau has done much more than that, including holding federal cabinet positions in Justin Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 Liberal government before retiring from politics last year. Before he became one of the first six Canadians to enter NASA91裸聊视频檚 astronaut program, the Quebec City native had earned a doctorate in electrical engineering and had a long career in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Buthe saidnothing compares to the intensity of sitting in the space shuttle91裸聊视频檚 cabin, uncomfortably vertical, withoutmuch to do except think about the 44 million horsepower under his seat and the great unknown he was about to enter.

91裸聊视频淭he kinds of things you think about are wide-ranging. I was wondering what was going through (my family91裸聊视频檚) minds,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檇 trained hard but I knew that all of Canada was looking. Was I going to be able to live up to those expectations and make Canada proud? If I screw this up, this is not going to be a good confidence-builder in NASA for future Canadians.91裸聊视频�

Not only did he did make Canada proud, he built enough confidence that NASA flew him to space twice more and welcomed aboard other Canucks, including Roberta Bondar and Chris Hadfield.

Like many astronauts, Garneau91裸聊视频檚 view of the world was changed by the space shuttle91裸聊视频檚 view of the world 91裸聊视频� a bright blue marble floating in airless emptiness.

91裸聊视频淭he first view out the window is seared into my brain,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淥ver the period of my three flights I changed the way I see Earth. I see Earth from a global perspective.91裸聊视频�

Three hundred kilometres above the planet, circling it every 90 minutes, Garneau watched vast clouds of smoke from a burning Amazon rainforest. He saw plumes of sediment washing into the Mediterranean Sea from spreading deserts. He saw veils of yellow-brown smog over China, California and Lake Erie.

91裸聊视频淲hen you see that thin atmosphere and realize we91裸聊视频檙e filling it with greenhouse gases and pollutants 91裸聊视频�when you see these things, you realize, 91裸聊视频榃hat are we doing?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚f we don91裸聊视频檛 take care of this planet, there is nowhere else to go.91裸聊视频�

Garneau remains proud of Canada91裸聊视频檚 contributions to space, from the Canadarm robotic arms to the guidance system on the James Webb Space Telescope.

But he warns that technology once dominated by a few countries is now becoming a crowded marketplace. Canada has to keep up, he said.

91裸聊视频淲e started out gangbusters,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲e are well respected in the world but guess what, other countries are putting a huge priority on their space programs.91裸聊视频�

South Korea, for example, now builds not only its own satellites but its own launch vehicles.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 kind of a space race going on now,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 a good thing, because there91裸聊视频檚 so many good things that can be done in space to serve humans back on Earth.91裸聊视频�

Garneau said Canada has to stick with the spirit that he found sitting in his astronaut91裸聊视频檚 chair, waiting to boldly go.

91裸聊视频淎fter flying in space, life was not as intimidating for me. It gave me a sense of confidence and it gave me confidence to move forward in life instead of playing it safe.91裸聊视频�