An Irish couple yesterday watched footage of their astronaut son-in-law beamed from Nasa's International Space Station to Cork to mark the official opening of the final stage of a new astronomical facility in the city.
Larry and Mary Egan, who run Egan's Opticians in Cork, were at Blackrock Castle for the unveiling of Cosmos in the Castle. The opening featured recent footage of their son-in-law, Dan Tani, who is currently on a Nasa shuttle mission. Mr Tani is married to Jane Egan and the couple live in Texas with their two children. The couple met when Mr Tani was on a golfing holiday in Cork.
Mr and Mrs Egan were at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in October when Mr Tani boarded Nasa's 23rd shuttle mission.
Nasa had hoped to provide a live feed of Mr Tani to Cork yesterday but had to cancel the plan for operational reasons.
The archived feed of the astronaut was the highlight of the launch of the final element of the €7.5 million Blackrock Castle astronomical research facility.
The project involved the redevelopment of Blackrock Castle into a centre for scientific research and communication. It is a joint venture by Cork City Council, Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and a private benefactor.
Blackrock Castle Observatory integrates research projects, an interactive astronomy exhibition centre and an educational programme.
It houses Ireland's foremost astronomical outreach facility, and a team of scientists are working on new technologies for searching for planets around distant stars.
Dr Niall Smith, head of research at CIT and principal scientist at Blackrock Castle, said yesterday that the observatory addressed several objectives in the Government's Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, including increasing the number of PhD science students and encouraging greater participation by students in science and engineering.