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Hot on the heels of the Artemis II mission around the moon, which included Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, another Canadian has been named to a space mission.
NASA announced Expedition 75, the next crew to the International Space Station (ISS). Along with Kutryk, the crew consists of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
Kutryk was recruited in 2017 along with Jenni Gibbons, who most recently served as Hansen’s backup for Artemis II and as capcom — capsule communicator — for the mission.
“I am honoured to be a part of Crew-13 and represent Canada on this mission,” Kutryk said.
“To me, space is driven by curiosity, adventure, innovation, and science — but above all, collaboration. Collaboration that creates opportunity and builds a better future. I’m committed to making the most of this unique opportunity.”
In 2023, Kutryk was announced as the next Canadian to fly to the ISS on a six-month mission.
It was originally announced that he would fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule. Boeing, along with SpaceX, was awarded a contract to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
However, Starliner has faced ongoing problems.
Its first uncrewed test, in December 2019, ended in failure after several incidents, including a misfire of its reaction-control thrusters that left the spacecraft without enough fuel to dock with the ISS.
The second uncrewed test, in May 2022, successfully docked with the ISS. But the third mission — a crewed flight in June 2024 — experienced so many problems, particularly with its thrusters, that the two astronauts, Sunni Williams and Butch Wilmore, were left on the station while the capsule returned successfully to Earth.
Because of these issues, Starliner is facing major delays in its effort to carry astronauts to and from the ISS, which is why the newly announced crew will launch in mid-September.
Born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., Kutryk served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a fighter pilot and operational test pilot.
Since being recruited by the CSA in 2017, Kutryk has been training in Houston with NASA.
