LONGUEUIL, Que.— Canada’s two new astronauts received a rousing ovation from staff at the Canadian Space Agency on July 4 as they took questions from children in the audience and toured the facilities.
“I’ve started new jobs before but I’ve never ever in my life received this type of a welcome on Day 1,” Joshua Kutryk of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., told the gathered crowd.
Kutryk and Calgary’s Jennifer Sidey, who will both head to Houston for training next month, were named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on July 1 as the country marked its 150th birthday.
Sidey is a lecturer with the University of Cambridge who has worked as a mechanical engineer, while Kutryk is an air force pilot with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in defence studies.
The two have no shortage of tasks to accomplish as the new Canadian astronauts navigate their space careers, but one remains high on their to-do lists: inspiring the next generation.
“Kids look up to us,” said Kutryk, 35. “It’s a critical part of the job: everyone’s life starts somewhere.”
He said that seeing a Canadarm exhibit in Edmonton when he was just six years old triggered his dream to become an astronaut.
“It’s certainly my hope that kids will be able to look at Josh and I and think they could be in our shoes in a couple of years’ time,” Sidey said. “That’s really important to me.”
