LONGUEUIL, Que. — From the International Space Station (ISS), Canadian astronaut Josh Kutryk says he wants the country to see his mission as a symbol not only of what he’s doing now, but what is possible in space.
Speaking with SpaceQ Tuesday, Oct. 13 during a news conference at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters, Kutryk said his mission is important because “it puts industry and academia and commercial entities from Canada here with me, on that leading edge of space flight.”
“The science is a big part of what we’re doing here, but of course — more fundamentally— I hope people see it as testament to what Canada can do when we do certain things, when we’re bold with vision, when we’re a little bit ready to take risks, when we apply that kind of thinking to the future and try to go out after it. That’s what spaceflight is all about to me,” Kutryk said, broadcasting near an airlock on the ISS with two EVA suits on either side of him.
“And when we see things like this, when we see Canada doing a long-duration mission, sending a Canadian to space for six months, importantly, participating with the United States, with NASA, committing, generating technology in Canada, giving that to the cause and participating in that exchange — I hope that we see a recipe for the future.”
Kutryk is the first CSA astronaut on the ISS in nearly seven years, since David Saint-Jacques completed his 2018-19 long-duration mission. Kutryk launched to the orbital complex on Oct. 1 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. with SpaceX Crew-13, and is expected to remain for at least half a year.
While his mission is just beginning, it is not atypical to see a flurry of announcements and events centred on a Canadian astronaut’s presence at the ISS. Kutryk is in space just before industry conference SpaceBound that starts on Oct. 19, as an example, and his mission timing coincides with the release of a new book (and associated book tour) about Jeremy Hansen’s Artemis 2 mission, co-written with John Larsen.
Just prior to Kutryk’s launch, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Mélanie Joly told SpaceQ that Canada is taking actions such as considering a new astronaut campaign in the relatively near future, and securing a seat for CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons (hired with Kutryk in 2017). Joly also acknowledged the fact that the CSA budget has been flat for several years, calling the situation a “reckoning” for the Canadian space industry.
Kutryk’s focus in the press conference, however, was more about talking about the points of connection in Canada to his mission — including the view from the space station, and the set of experiments that he is performing. Kutryk also alluded to his test-pilot background from the Royal Canadian Air Force when discussing his flight to orbit.
“The first three minutes of flight are exhilarating, spectacular, powerful, violent. We accelerate so quickly. We’re through the speed of sound in the first minute, and then we settle down at about three and a half to four Gs for eight minutes. We cap out at, I think it was about eight kilometres a second. So a lot of energy. And when you’re riding it, you feel all of that.”
Regarding his flying background, he continued, “this is a little bit different. It feels different. Your mind is alive, trying to bring in all these new experiences and feelings and sensations things you’ve trained for — but never really felt for real until the first flight. But ultimately it’s really fun and it’s very satisfying.”