Biography of Joshua Kutryk
- Date of birth:
- Born: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
- Background: Test pilot, fighter pilot, engineer, colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force
- Education: Bachelor in mechanical engineering; master in space studies; master in flight test engineering; master in defence studies
- Flight certification: Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL), fixed wing experimental test pilot, fighter pilot, civilian and military instructor pilot; over 4,000 hours of flying experience on more than 40 aircraft types
- Languages: English, French
- Mission: Starliner-1 to the International Space Station (ISS)
Personal profile
Born , in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Joshua Kutryk was raised on a cattle farm in eastern Alberta. He enjoys backcountry skiing, cycling, mountaineering and paragliding.
Career highlights
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Joshua Kutryk serves as a CF-18 fighter pilot with 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville, Quebec. He flies missions in support of Canada's NATO, UN and NORAD commitments around the world. He is deployed to conflicts in both Libya and Afghanistan.
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Joshua Kutryk works as an experimental test pilot, primarily on the CF-18 aircraft, at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alberta.
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He works as an operational test pilot in Cold Lake, Alberta, leading the unit responsible for the operational flight-testing of fighter aircraft in Canada. He also works as an instructor pilot on the CF-18, teaching Canada's newest fighter pilots.
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Joshua Kutryk is one of two recruits selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in through the fourth Canadian astronaut recruitment campaign.
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Kutryk serves as a crewmember during a European Space Agency-led caving expedition for three weeks in Europe. He subsequently serves on a lunar geology expedition to the Mistastin Lake Impact Crater in Labrador, Canada.
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Kutryk graduates from Astronaut Candidate Training and obtains the official title of astronaut. He is then appointed to the position of Operations Officer for the NASA Astronaut Office in Houston, Texas. He certifies as capcom for the ISS.
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Joshua Kutryk begins working with the Starliner team in Houston. He is selected to be the capcom for the ascent and re-entry of the first crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner vehicle. He continues to be engaged with the development of the Starliner spaceship, participating in test and certification efforts as both a member of the flight control team and as a test subject.
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Joshua Kutryk is assigned to Starliner-1, a Commercial Crew mission to the ISS, where he will live and work for approximately six months. He will become the first CSA astronaut to be part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Meet Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk. (Credit: CSA)
Education
Colonel Kutryk holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering (1st Class Distinction) from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario (). He also earned a master's degree in space studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida (), a master's degree in flight test engineering from the United States Air Force's Air University in Alabama (), and a master's degree in defence studies from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario ().
Special honours
Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference Delegate (), Liethen-Tittle Award for top test pilot graduate (), distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School (), Canadian Forces Decoration (), Article 5 NATO Medal (), Southwest Asia General Campaign Star (), Tristan de Koninck Trophy for F-18 flying skill (), City of Moose Jaw flying trophy (), A.C. Leonard Birchall Award for undergraduate research (), Top Overall Flying Proficiency during primary flight training (), Professional Engineers of Ontario Undergraduate Academic Scholarship (), Right Honourable Don Mazankowski Scholarship (), Governor General's Academic Medal (), Neil Armstrong Memorial Scholarship (), Alexander Rutherford Scholarship for Academic Achievement ().