Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is heading to the ISS next week

‘I never, ever, ever … thought that I would have this opportunity to go out on behalf of Canada,’ he says

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk holds up his fingers to make the number 13 to mark his launch as part of Crew 13 launch to the International Space Station. Kutryk and four other astronauts are set to launch on Oct. 1. (SpaceX)

It’s only been six months since Canada’s Jeremy Hansen made history by flying around the moon. Now, it’s Joshua Kutryk’s turn to blast off into space.

But he’ll be hanging around closer to home and will be in space for far longer, living and working on the International Space Station (ISS) for roughly six months.

“I never, ever, ever, ever … thought that I would have this opportunity to go out on behalf of Canada and do a mission like this,” Kutryk said during a press call on Wednesday.

“I dreamt of it. I always dreamt of it and thought it would be the most wonderful experience, but I always viewed it as impossibly hard.”

Kutryk, who was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., is an engineer, fighter pilot and test pilot who has flown more than 4,000 hours on more than 40 different aircraft types.

He was chosen alongside Jenni Gibbons in 2017 by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in its recruitment program.

Kutryk was initially supposed to launch on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner. However, Boeing has suffered big setbacks, delaying its first crewed mission.

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk gets ready for ISS mission

Joshua Kutryk is set to be the next Canadian astronaut in space and the first to participate in a joint NASA-SpaceX mission. Kutryk is set to leave for the International Space Station on Sept. 12.

Instead, he’ll be riding on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Kutryk was initially supposed to launch on Sept. 12, but there was an issue with the spacecraft, so the launch was delayed to Oct. 1. He said he has faith that the vehicle is ready to fly.

While he’s packing light, he’ll still be bringing some items into space with him.

“I’m bringing many things from different Canadian organizations, universities, public service agencies that I’m affiliated with,” Kutryk said. “I’m bringing a lot of Canadian flags. This idea of being Canadian is something that has always resonated with me.”

But one thing of particular importance to him is an old pocket watch that travelled from Ukraine to Canada when his family immigrated here. The watch has actually beaten him to the ISS, however. It went up with an earlier supply launch.

Kutryk said the fact that the watch was likely built in the early 1900s, and is now in space, is something special.

“It’s just this really important personal memento, but also a really neat metaphor for how much the world can change … because of how we explore,” he said. “I plan to keep it pretty close during those six months.”

‘Can’t wait to look out the window’

When asked what he’s looking forward to the most, Kutryk said his answer may seem boring.

“The truth is, the answer to that is the simplest one, and that is: I just can’t wait to look out the window,” he said.

“The six-year-old kid and me, all the way up to the 44-year-old astronaut, husband, every version of a human I’ve been in between, the thing that I want to do the most is go to the biggest window I can find and just stare at Earth.”

The Crew 13 launch, as it’s called, will also include NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteriatnikov.

The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew 13 mission display their mission plaque. From left are, Cmdr. Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney, both from NASA, Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos. (Morgan Gridley/NASA)

It will also be the first space mission for Delaney and Teteriatnikov.

The crew will join several astronauts who are already on station and will conduct several experiments, some of which are Canadian.

Kutryk says that, while there may be a lot of of unrest here on Earth, the mission illustrates how united the world can be.

“There’s a lot of chaos. There’s a lot of challenge, no doubt everywhere, and Canada’s right in the middle of some of that,” he said.

“For me, when I step into a suit, and I get to see what we’re doing in space with all these countries — the United States, Canada, Russia and so many others in between — it separates me from all the bad headlines, and it shows me what we can do, what the future can be.” — Nicole Mortillaro