CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronaut Randolph Bresnik jubilantly welcomed his new daughter into the world Sunday as he floated 220 miles above it.
Abigail Mae Bresnik was born as her father circled Earth on his first space-shuttle mission, hours after his first spacewalk.
It was only the second time in history that a NASA astronaut was in orbit when his child was born.
“At 11:04 last night, Abigail Mae Bresnik joined the NASA family,” Bresnik announced Sunday morning from the linked space shuttle Atlantis and international space station. “Mama and baby are doing very well.”
It was the second child for Randolph and Rebecca Bresnik, who adopted a boy from Ukraine a year ago.
Rebecca Bresnik was due to give birth Friday in Houston. But Saturday morning came without any news as Randolph Bresnik ventured out on a six- hour spacewalk, installing antennas and other equipment.
As his wife was in labor Saturday evening, Bresnik was connected by the space station’s Internet protocol phone to the NASA flight surgeon at the hospital. Bedtime came, and the spaceman signed off for the night.
Abigail Mae — 6 pounds and 13 ounces, and 20 inches long — finally made her appearance, long after all the astronauts had gone to sleep.
Mission Control awakened the shuttle crew with the song “Butterfly Kisses,” chosen by Rebecca Bresnik for her husband.
Atlantis will remain docked at the space station until Wednesday and return to Earth on Friday. The family will be reunited as soon as possible, probably the next day.
“I will look forward to that landing . . . probably more than anybody has in the history of the space-shuttle program,” Randolph Bresnik said.
