Q&A with Joshua Kutryk

As a child I was fascinated with space. I knew that my life would focus on helping explore it. As an adult, I realize human space exploration is important to us all – as individuals and as Canadians. I have always wanted to leave the world a better place than I found it, and I believe that space is one area where I can do this. I want to serve Canadians in a way that fits with my skills and interests. I want to inspire them. I want to help humanity broaden its collective horizon.

Physics and math were my favourite subjects in high school – I was continually amazed by how those subjects explained the world around me. I couldn't fly to space as a child, but I could fly into the atmosphere. I went for a ride in a light aircraft when I was just nine years old. When we landed I knew that I wanted to fly, and that I wanted to understand in detail the science and engineering that made flying possible. I was inspired. My motivation to study aerospace at the highest levels was set.

As a test pilot, I had a job that combined two of my favourite things: engineering and high-performance flying. I like the challenges of testing new technical systems aboard high-performance jets, and I especially like the teamwork that goes into solving those challenges. I got to work with aerospace engineers, analysts, aircraft technicians, program managers and corporate executives, all with the goal of making the F-18 safer and more effective.

Overall, it would be the good balance I am (usually) able to maintain among a challenging variety of family, professional and personal endeavours. Achieving balance in life is difficult, and I try very hard to make that my priority. I am proud of the different experiences I have had and feel lucky to have had them.

Never despair.

Throughout my life, my father would encourage me to seek out new experiences. He believed that pursuing a wide breadth of experience was the key to success. As a child, this meant participating in a lot of extracurricular and community activities, even ones that didn't interest me at the time. As an adult, this advice has served me well, both professionally and personally. I have learned to embrace new, unknown experiences and not to fear them. This advice remains a big factor in all my career decisions.

When I was in grade six, my teacher (his name was Ted) had just returned to Canada following an extended cycling trip through India. This gave me a glimpse at the kind of exploratory and adventurous life I wanted to live. His stories of riding a bike across a foreign country inspired me and had a very real effect on later decisions I would make. In fact, I still stay in touch with him. He is a principal now at a school in Whitehorse, Yukon, where I was fortunate enough to spend a few of my childhood years.

Role models have played an important part in my life. I admire the Canadian astronauts and trailblazers who came before me. When I was a teenager, Neil Armstrong left a big impression on me because he combined academic rigour with test flying to help take humans to the Moon.