Biography of Julie Payette

Julie Payette works as a system engineer with IBM Canada.

Payette works as a research assistant at the University of Toronto.

Payette acts as visiting scientist at the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland.

Julie Payette works as a research engineer with BNR/Northern in Montreal. She conducts research in computer systems, natural language understanding and automatic speech recognition.

In June, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) selects Julie Payette from over 5000 applicants to become one of four additional astronauts. After basic training in Canada, Payette works as a technical advisor for the robotics system contributed by Canada to the International Space Station (ISS).

In preparation for a space mission assignment, Julie Payette obtains her commercial pilot licence, studies Russian, and logs 120 hours as a research operator on board reduced gravity aircraft.

In February, she obtains her military pilot captaincy on the Tutor CT-114 "Snowbird" jet at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In April, she is certified as a one-atmosphere, deep-sea diving suit operator. In August, Payette reports to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

She obtains her military instrument rating, accumulating more than 1300 hours of flight time.

Payette completes basic astronaut training and is assigned to work on technical issues in robotics for the Astronaut Office.

Payette flies on Space Shuttle Discovery as a crewmember of STS-96. During the mission, the crew performs the first manual docking of the Shuttle to the ISS and delivers four tons of supplies. Payette serves as a mission specialist, is responsible for the Station's systems, supervises the spacewalk and operates the Canadarm robotic arm. She is the first Canadian to participate in an ISS assembly mission and to board the Space Station.

Julie Payette serves as Chief Astronaut for the CSA.

She represents the Astronaut Corps at the European and Russian space agencies, supervising procedure development, equipment verification, and space hardware processing for the ISS Program.

Julie Payette begins work as a capsule communicator (capcom) at Mission Control Center in Houston.

She serves as lead capcom for Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-121.

Payette serves as the flight engineer on STS-127 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, completing ISS Assembly Mission 2J/A. She operates all three robotic arms (Canadarm, Canadarm2, and the Japanese arm on the Kibo module) during the 16-day mission. The mission brings Payette's total time in space to 612 hours.

She undertakes a fellowship as a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. Later that year, Payette becomes the scientific authority for Quebec in Washington, representing Quebec's Department of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, while remaining a member of the Canadian astronaut corps.

Julie Payette retires from the CSA. She works as a diplomat in Washington, D.C., and becomes the Director of the Montréal Science Centre.

She serves on the boards of several public and not-for-profit organizations.

Payette becomes Canada's 29th Governor General. During her tenure, she emphasizes the importance of international collaboration and the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

She remains active in the aerospace community as technical advisor and speaker. She produces several educational programs and participates regularly in educational outreach events. She presents at technical forums to discuss science and environmental issues, including the search for solutions to the proliferation of orbital debris.

Julie Payette is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and serves on its Board of Trustees. She is President of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) and a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto.

Ms. Payette can converse in six languages and has a passion for sports and music. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee's Women in Sport commission and has sung with several ensembles, including the Ottawa Bach Choir, with whom she won a Juno Award in 2020. She sings with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra choir, and during the Canadian winter, she volunteers as a ski patrol.