SpaceQ Space news and analysis.
The Canadian Space Agency announced this morning that Prime Minister Trudeau will announce Canada’s next two astronauts at Canada Day festivities in Ottawa as the nation celebrates 150 years of confederation.
The announcement is scheduled between 11:40 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. ET. On hand will be Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. The new astronauts will make brief remarks. The Canadian Space Agency will also a Facebook live event starting at 1:00 p.m. ET which we’ll carry live.
Then on Tuesday, July 4th at Canadian Space Agency headquarters, the new astronauts will take part in a full media event.
It will no doubt be a whirlwind experience for these new astronauts and before they know it they will head to Houston to get settled in before their training starts August 1.
It was just over a year ago that Minister Bains announced that Canada would be seeking two new astronauts. And unlike past astronaut classes, these two new astronauts may have the opportunity of going beyond the International Space Station as Canada prepares for humanities eventual return to the moon.
For the remaining 17 astronaut candidates, it’s been the longest recruitment campaign ever for a Canadian astronaut class and according to former astronaut Chris Hadfield, the most gruelling.
Here in their own words, the dream of becoming an astronaut.
