Panama Canal Founder Honored with Space Trip

The Panama Canal hosted NASA Astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski this week. Dr. Parazynski presented the Panama Canal Authority with a Panama flag and a collection of photos in honor of Col. David DuBose Gaillard, an ancestor of Dr. Parazynski.

Colonel Gaillard was the a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the man faced with the challenge of cutting through the Continental Divide to create the Panama Canal. The nine-mile strip of land that was to be cut to create the Canal was originally named the “Culebra Cut”. Because Gaillard died in 1913, before the Canal was completed, the project was renamed the “Gaillard Cut” in his honor.

Dr. Parazynski, a descendent of Gaillard, took a VIP tour of the Canal following the official ceremony at the Miraflores Locks. Parazynski claims that there are many similarities in the challenges that face both the space and oceanic areas of study.

Parazynski flew Gaillard’s items in his most recent space mission and has returned them to the country of Panama to celebrate Gaillard. Dr. Parazynski has logged five shuttle flights and a total of 1381 flight hours. He is a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the NASA Space Flight Medal for performing a spacewalk to repair a space station solar array.

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