Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Joshua Kutryk’s ISS mission has 'no chance' of disappointment, says Jeremy Hansen

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Joshua Kutryk’s ISS mission has 'no chance' of disappointment, says Jeremy Hansen · THE DAILY BRIEF

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk and three other crew members scheduled
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to head to the International Space Station this morning. They're
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: embarking on a six-month mission, launch time set for about
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: 11 a.m. Eastern time, so we're coming up about four
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and a half hours from now. All of this is
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: weather permitting. Kutryk set to be the second Canadian in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: space this year after Jeremy Hansen took part in the
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: historic Artemis II mission. Hansen and Kutryk have shared an
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: extraordinary career path, both starting as fighter pilots together, then becoming,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: both of them, Canadian astronauts. And Hansen made history earlier
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: this year. Now he will watch his friend take on
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: his own space journey.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Josh is somebody I've known for a long time. I
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  Speaker 2: don't even know how long. Probably the better part of
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: 15 years. or longer than that, I suppose. We flew
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: F-18s together in the Royal Canadian Air Force, went through
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: some astronaut selection aspects together, and been in the astronaut
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: corps together for quite some time. One of the highlights
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: of my role was mentoring the 2017 class, which Jenny
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  Speaker 2: and Josh were part of, and got to know them
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  Speaker 2: even better during that process. So he's an extraordinary professional.
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  Speaker 2: He's going to represent Canada really well in space. I'm
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: excited to to watch him fly. He's really ready for
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: this mission. And, uh, yeah, really super excited to see
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  Speaker 2: him in space floating around. I'm going to, I'm going
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  Speaker 2: to be jealous of watching him float.
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  Speaker 1: Well, here's another thing. I wonder if you're going to
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  Speaker 1: be jealous about, he gets a new space suit. I understand.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Well, of course. Yeah. Um, I mean, he has a
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: SpaceX launch and entry suit, which he'll, which he'll use
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  Speaker 2: for that. And then of course he's ready to do spacewalk.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: So If that occasion arises, he'll be an excellent space walker.
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  Speaker 2: And that would be something really fun to see the
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  Speaker 2: maple flag or the maple leaf outside the airlock of
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  Speaker 2: the space station if that happens to come to fruition.
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  Speaker 1: Now, here is one thing. He launches in October. In November,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: his wife's expecting their third child. That will only be
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  Speaker 1: the third time in history that something like that has happened.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I couldn't have quoted that it was the third
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  Speaker 2: time in history, but super rare, of course, and not
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  Speaker 2: the ideal circumstances for Josh and Heather. But these are
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  Speaker 2: the sacrifices that families make when you commit to serving
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: your country. And this is something that is wonderful that
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  Speaker 2: is happening, that they're bringing another child into the world.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: The timing's a little off, but they're both extraordinary parents,
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  Speaker 2: an extraordinary couple. And, uh, we, we've talked about it. Um,
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  Speaker 2: you know, when I, when I found out it was like, oh, wow,
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  Speaker 2: I'm super proud of both of you for, um, being
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: willing to willing to take that on. And, uh, they, they,
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  Speaker 2: they know it's going to be challenging, but they have
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  Speaker 2: a great sense of confidence, which of course they, they
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  Speaker 2: can have given the humans that they are.
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  Speaker 1: For any spouse, any partner who, who sees, um, the
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: other go off, uh, on a trip, who has a commitment,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: who has a thing that needs to be done. There's
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: a shared sacrifice. And so I hear what you're saying
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  Speaker 1: about the sacrifice that she's making. But I'm also acknowledging
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  Speaker 1: she has two little kids and one littler one. I
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  Speaker 1: actually wonder who has the harder job right now.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think any of us really question whose
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  Speaker 2: role is harder. It's definitely Heather. staying on the planet.
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  Speaker 2: And it's always that way. The operations that Josh will
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  Speaker 2: undertake are, of course, they're risky and they're challenging, but
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  Speaker 2: we're well prepared for them. Anyone who's a parent knows
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  Speaker 2: that that is an ever-changing environment, always throwing new challenges
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: at you. And that's one that none of us are
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: ever really trained or prepared for doing the role of
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  Speaker 2: a parent.
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  Speaker 1: Many similarities between what you did and what Josh Kudryk
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  Speaker 1: is about to do. Six months face on there's so
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  Speaker 1: many things that are different. I I wonder what you
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  Speaker 1: make of that.
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  Speaker 2: Hmm They're really I mean the similarities are the risks
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: that you take any time you you go into space
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  Speaker 2: and living in that constant environment of just you know
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: not being like on edge with being alert and ready
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  Speaker 2: and always you know was having the back of your
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: head how serious the the mission can become in just
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: a moment and But the length of the mission is
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: a significant challenge. It's a long time to be in space.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: It comes with pros and it comes with cons. The
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  Speaker 2: pros are he's going to have a lot of time
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  Speaker 2: to cherish the planet from the perspective of space and
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: really get to know Earth from 400 kilometers up. That's
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: an extraordinary privilege to have that time to spend looking
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  Speaker 2: out the window and observing Earth. But then on the
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  Speaker 2: other hand, he's away from home for a long time.
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  Speaker 2: And that comes with a heavy burden.
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  Speaker 1: What happens in those quieter moments in your mind?
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  Speaker 2: I really found that you do so much mental preparation
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  Speaker 2: for this moment. You know it's coming. You've talked to
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: your loved ones about it. And I really saw this
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  Speaker 2: in my crewmates as well. I know it'll happen for
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  Speaker 2: Josh and Jessica, Luke and Sergey also. You sort of
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  Speaker 2: accept your fate. You know what you're about to undertake
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  Speaker 2: is risky, but you have already made that decision. It's predetermined.
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  Speaker 2: It's not a surprise. And so like the emotions are
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: more like excitement and curiosity of like what it's going
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  Speaker 2: to feel like and observing and listening and feeling the
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: rocket as it flies. Josh will be on a different
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  Speaker 2: rocket than we flew on. And so that'll be a
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: very different experience. And I'll be interested to exchange stories
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  Speaker 2: with him when he's back.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Canada's Joshua Kutryk about four hours away from the scheduled
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: launch window to head up to the International Space Station.
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  Speaker 1: He knows Jeremy Hansen quite well. Both started their careers
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: as fighter pilots then both became Canadian astronauts. Hansen made
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: history earlier this year. Now he is going to watch
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: his friend take on his own space journey.
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  Speaker 2: There's no chance at all he's going to be disappointed.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone that goes up there is just blown away from
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  Speaker 2: the perspective and We all know this. You take pictures
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  Speaker 2: of a beautiful place, you visit and you come back
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: and you show friends and they're like, oh, wow, that's beautiful.
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  Speaker 2: But it's not the same. And when you see it
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  Speaker 2: with your own eyes, it's not just seeing, it's like
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  Speaker 2: it's feeling into that. And the three dimensionality of it,
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  Speaker 2: the fact that you can just kind of look from
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: the edge and see the edge of the atmosphere, then
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: look straight down. It's just completely different to be immersed
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: in the environment. I have like this distinct vivid memories
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  Speaker 2: of when we came back in for the translunar injection. Um,
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  Speaker 2: I was behind the controls and Reed was floating beside
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  Speaker 2: me left and looking out the, out the window one
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  Speaker 2: and seeing the earth zipping by and just being in
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  Speaker 2: awe of that. And, uh, he would not be disappointed.
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  Speaker 2: He'll be glued to the window.
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  Speaker 1: There is something to be said for the crew that
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  Speaker 1: is on this mission. And, uh, you know, I won't
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: butter it up. Um, We have tensions with the Americans.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: There's a Canadian alongside Americans on this mission. But so
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: to a Russian, a country that is at war with
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a Canadian ally, Ukraine. What does it say about the ISS,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: about the mission, that that is possible?
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: Such an extraordinary triumph of humanity. This very visual reminder
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  Speaker 2: of we can work together. We can do great things together.
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  Speaker 2: I've been sharing a lot since I got back. When
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: you look at tiny Earth out the window and you
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: can cover it with your thumb and you're just like, wow,
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  Speaker 2: we're so lucky to live here on this planet. How
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: can we do anything other than work together, lift one
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  Speaker 2: another up, love one another? And the International Space Station
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  Speaker 2: is an example of us doing just that. And yes,
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: those tensions are very real. But when it comes to
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: space and us really working together, we are just humans.
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  Speaker 2: And it's a great reminder that Borders, cultures, languages are
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  Speaker 2: not a barrier that we cannot overcome. We are doing
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  Speaker 2: it and we're showing people a better way. And we
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  Speaker 2: should keep stating it over and over again. We can't
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  Speaker 2: fix everything tomorrow. We can't throw a magic switch. We've
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: got a lot of things to work through. But at
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: least we can acknowledge that it is possible and it
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  Speaker 2: should be our stated goal. Global collaboration.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: When you had Splashdown, I think a lot of people
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: were surprised about just how small the capsule was, how
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: there was just no extra room in there at all.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: And not to say that the International Space Station is roomy,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: it's slightly roomier, but six months together in quite close quarters.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: How do you prepare for that?
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  Speaker 2: We're pretty serious about this in the astronaut corps, what
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: we call expeditionary skills, but it's really just teamwork skills.
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  Speaker 2: And we prepare just through conversation. We make space for that.
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  Speaker 2: And we talk about how important it is and how
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: we as humans, we have to make space for communication,
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: open communication, very honest communication. And so we work hard
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: to equip our astronaut core with that skill set. And
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: when they, when they do feel those inevitable tensions, cause
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: they will arise, they will get on each other's nerves somehow,
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: some way, um, they can diffuse it really quickly with
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: the skill sets that they have. And that's what I
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: totally expect from this team.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Are you ever scared?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I will be more scared tomorrow than Josh is. Um,
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  Speaker 2: watching him fly to space, and all four of them.
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  Speaker 2: I know all four. I love all four of those astronauts.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know Sergei very well at all, but I
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: certainly appreciate him as a professional astronaut. And I'll be
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: scared watching them launch. My heart will be in my throat.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: As it will be for an awful lot of Canadians
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  Speaker 1: and beyond. I did want to lastly ask you about
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  Speaker 1: some of the work they're going to be doing, and
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot of it, but Josh Kutryk has very
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: specific experiments that he is responsible for.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: What is the.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Importance of doing that in the space environment?
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  Speaker 2: The reason Canada has a space program is because we
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: have always set goals around innovation and learning and creating
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: a better future for ourselves. And so we do that
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: through technology, things that you see like Canadarm, the robotics
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  Speaker 2: we created. But we also do that through learning like
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: in a laboratory. The International Space Station is this extraordinary laboratory.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: And because we built it, scientists just have access to it.
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  Speaker 2: And so Josh will be a proxy scientist to a
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  Speaker 2: host of experiments that have been sent up on behalf
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: of experts on the ground. And they will collaborate to
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: learn new things to push our horizon out further. And
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: that is how we got here as humans. And that
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: is how we will continue to make a better future
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: is by continuing to learn and always being curious and
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: just knowing we do not have it all figured out.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Jeremy Hansen, thank you so much for your time.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's my pleasure. Go Crew 13.