The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will celebrate its 100th anniversary on April 1 with a lot of news to report in astronaut missions as well.
Service members, and Canadian Space Agency astronauts Col. Jeremy Hansen and Col. Josh Kutryk were assigned to two space missions, respectively, in 2023. Hansen will be the first non-American to fly around the Moon on Artemis 2 in 2025, alongside three NASA astronauts. Kutryk will be the next Canadian to fly to the International Space Station aboard the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft, no earlier than 2025 as well.
With two military astronauts flying into space in a row, Canada also established a Canadian Astronaut Coordination Officer position at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, to provide operational support for Artemis 2 and other missions. Capt. Erin Edwards was posted there in summer 2023 and is training with the Flight Operations Directorate for capcom duties. She also was named the first non-astronaut to serve as NASA’s deputy branch chief for crew operations, which manages training currency requirements for astronauts.
We must also pay tribute here to the two-year-old 3 Canadian Space Division (3 CSD) established in 2022, which was meant to put more emphasis on space activities in line with international efforts like the young United States Space Force. 3 CSD is meant to align with Canada’s defence policy, which in part aims to protect space assets against space domain threats. Edwards is assigned under 3 CSD (while representing RCAF as well); Kutryk and Hansen are serving with the RCAF.
SpaceQ sat down with Hansen and his Artemis 2 backup, CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, during a media day at the agency’s headquarters near Montreal on Feb. 6 to learn more about what the RCAF anniversary signifies for the CSA and for the astronauts themselves.
Hansen, whose daughter recently decided to join the military as well, noted that both Canadian and international space military personnel have diverse backgrounds ranging from medical doctors to teachers to pilots, like himself. While he was careful to say that all backgrounds are welcome in space – including military and civilian – the 100th anniversary “highlights the extraordinary work of the men and women who make up the armed forces both in Canada, and abroad.”
Hansen said that in his experience as a cadet, a fighter pilot and as an astronaut, he has seen for decades “this team of people who are really very selfless, and their commitment to the country –and not only even our own country, but committed to humanity around the world. I’m personally very proud of the mentality and approach; I was brought up in the military where you sort of put others ahead of yourself. I think that’s very Canadian.”
Hansen and Kutryk will fly two CSA missions in a row while representing the military, and that growth is happening around the world: the first Space Force Guardian, NASA astronaut Nick Hague, will fly to space aboard SpaceX Crew-9 as soon as August 2024. (Hague has flown to space twice already with the U.S. Air Force, but was transferred to Space Force after his 2019 mission and then officially reassigned.) Hansen said space missions such as these are an opportunity for military members to highlight the work that all personnel do.
“I’m proud to see our military in the world, with the influence that we have, using that influence to say we want to stand up for others who can’t stand up for themselves. We are willing to put our lives on the line, to protect others if necessary. And of course, we’re willing to react at home to defend our place in the world, if that is necessary, as well. It’s an opportunity for both Josh and I as astronauts to highlight the work – the incredible work – that the military does on the world stage.”
Gibbons, allowing that she is a civilian, said she felt “extremely positive” about watching how Hansen and Kutryk represent the military and that “seeing them fly will be really special.” For her, the anniversary represents “another level of appreciation of what the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Air Force does in our own country. I know that my education on that has certainly increased since I joined the astronaut corps.”