Alberta-born astronaut Joshua Kutryk set to launch for ISS on Oct. 1Alberta-born astronaut Joshua Kutryk set to launch for ISS on Oct. 1
OTTAWA — Another Canadian astronaut is heading to space, with Alberta-born Joshua Kutryk scheduled to launch for the International Space Station on Oct. 1.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 9:10 a.m. local time for the launch of Crew-13, which will carry Kutryk, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the station.
If the mission launches as planned, the crew is expected to arrive at the ISS less than nine hours later, with docking scheduled for about 6 p.m. MT.
Kutryk will live and work aboard the station for roughly six months, taking part in scientific research and other operations alongside the international crew.
The mission comes about six months after Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew around the moon, putting another Canadian in space within the same year.
Kutryk was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., and is an engineer, fighter pilot and test pilot who has logged more than 4,000 flying hours on more than 40 types of aircraft.
He was selected by the Canadian Space Agency in 2017 alongside Jenni Gibbons.
Kutryk was originally assigned to Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner program before delays to that spacecraft led to his move to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
The Canadian Space Agency says Crew-13 is now completing final prelaunch activities and mission-readiness reviews ahead of the planned Oct. 1 flight. The crew is also in standard prelaunch quarantine at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Kutryk will be carrying a personal piece of family history with him during the mission.
A pocket watch brought from Ukraine to Canada by his great-grandfather in the early 1900s has already been sent to the space station aboard an earlier supply mission. Kutryk plans to keep the watch with him during his six months in orbit.
The launch is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. MT on Oct. 1. The Canadian Space Agency is providing mission updates through its Crew-13 mission page.
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