NASA astronaut Zena Cardman scheduled for liftoff Thursday, carrying a crew to the International Space Station. She has special notes from her father, sent before he died last August, waiting for her at the ISS.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, aged 37, is preparing to command her first mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Her initial launch was postponed when two seats on her previous flight were needed for other astronauts returning from the ISS due to safety concerns with their spacecraft. As a result, Cardman, a rookie at the time, was one of the crew members who had to stay behind.

NASA later appointed Cardman as the commander of a new mission. Upon her arrival at the ISS, she will find cards from her late father, Larry Cardman, who passed away before her flight. These notes were sent to the station prior to his death, providing a personal connection for Cardman as she fulfills her long-held dream of spaceflight.

NASA astronaut blasting off to space with dad's notes for her at ISS

Have a good run. More than most NASA astronauts, 37-year-old Zena Cardman knows all the stars have to align to go to space. It's a privilege to fly in space. It's a dream come true when we get to fly. She was weeks away from her first launch when that dream was interrupted last summer. The concern for us specifically is very heartwarming. Her colleagues, Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams, needed a ride home from the ISS. Their Boeing Starliner had become a safety worry. NASA decided they'd fly home on the next SpaceX Dragon, Cardman's flight. But to make room for them, two of the four seats would have to launch empty. Two crew members would have to stay home. We've trained together for so long. We're friends. We're family at this point. Did you think, I'm in trouble on this one? I mean, honestly, at that point, I thought that I was still launching. I was the commander of the flight. But because Cardman was a rookie, NASA decided she would be one of the two staying behind. Disappointing on some level. Of course it's disappointing. I'm a human being. I'm an astronaut. I want to fly in space, obviously. Ignition. Full power. And liftoff. Cardman had to watch her mission lift off without her. And of course you want to be there with them. That's the mission that you had hoped to fly on. Seeing my teammates come off of that aircraft and seeing Butch and Sonny come off as well, it was really special. And I was so grateful that I got to be there and hug them in person. NASA made it up to her. It named her commander of a new mission, the one scheduled to lift off today. And waiting for her at the ISS, something poignant. Cards from her father, Larry Cardman, who died last August. All of those cards were sent to the space station before my father passed away. Her father was a great champion through all the ups and downs of her space odyssey. And now I'll have the chance to see them. What do you think is going to be going through your head and heart as you see what your dad wrote you? It's hard to predict. I have no idea what it's going to feel like. I think it will make me feel really connected to this whole journey. The people who have brought me to where I am today. Family makes you who you are.

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Breakdown