Fort Saskatchewan-born astronaut Joshua Kutryk, via NASA/Bill Stafford
An astronaut born in Fort Saskatchewan is set to head to space later this year aboard Nasa’s SpaceX Crew-13, a shuttle to the International Space Station.
Joshua Kutryk was originally assigned to the Starliner-1 before NASA announced that it would become an uncrewed cargo flight. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA worked together to get Joshua reassigned to Crew-13.
The flight is set to launch no earlier than September of this year, with Kutryk on board alongside crewmates Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney from NASA and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. They will remain on the ISS for approximately six months.
Kutryk was recruited as a CSA astronaut in 2017 and completed basic training in 2020. Since then, he was worked in different positions for Canada’s space program. He is also an engineer and former fighter pilot, having served in Afghanistan and Libya during his time with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Joshua was born on March 21, 1982 in Fort Saskatchewan, spending lots of his childhood moving around thanks to his father’s career in the RCMP.
The mission will mark Kutryk as the eighth Canadian astronaut to stay on the ISS, and the fourth to remain on the Station for a long period of time.
“I am honoured to be a part of Crew-13 and represent Canada on this mission,” said Kutryk in a statement. “To me, space is driven by curiosity, adventure, innovation, and science – but above all, collaboration. Collaboration that creates opportunity and builds a better future. I’m committed to making the most of this unique opportunity.”