Canadian Space Agency welcomes its newest astronauts from Alberta

“Our new astronauts will represent Canada, advance our understanding of our planets and our universe, and inspire the next generation of Canadians to reach for the stars,” Trudeau said.

Joshua Kutryk and Jennifer Sidey were present on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 1 during the Canada 150 celebrations.

Both Sidey and Kutryk, were selected out of 3,772 applicants who met the minimum criteria set out by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

“It’s been a very long, tiring year. The testing has been difficult. The waiting has been difficult. It just feels wonderful to come out the other end,” Kutryk said, quoted CTVNews.

Sidey, from Calgary, a lecturer with the University of Cambridge who worked as a mechanical engineer, said it was since 1992, when Roberta Bondar went into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery, that she had been dreaming of becoming an astronaut.

“I remember I was so young but that meant a lot to me, to have someone who was that relatable do something so big in Canada. That was huge,” Sidey told CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme in Ottawa after the prime minister’s introduction.

Kutryk, from Fort Saskatchewan's is an air force pilot with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in defence studies, said he had been fascinated with space as a child and wanted to focus his life on helping to explore the space, a biography posted on the space agency's website said.

He said he was in the Edmonton Space Science Centre when the Canadarm 1, a series of robotic arms used on the space shuttle, was being used in space.

“The Canadian invention, the Canadian system, being used by Canadian astronauts of the likes of Marc Garneau and Bondar and Chris Hadfield shortly thereafter, that was a defining moment for me seeing that work in space, realizing that there were Canadians in space. I did know right then that was I wanted to work towards,” Kutryk said.

Sidey credited her experience playing rugby as helping her endure the tests and training.

“Rugby played a big role,” she said. “When I was going through the selection process and I knew that I was going to be motivated by the people that were around me, that’s where the team element definitely came in to play I think,” CTVNews  said.

Sidey and Kutryk will be reporting for training at Johnston Space Centre in Houston later this month.

During the two-year training program the pair will receive instructions on systems on the International Space Station, spacewalks and Russian language training.

“We have so much to learn,” Kutryk said. “But for Jenni and I, the opportunity to learn that, to study at NASA, is a dream come true and it’s something that we’re really looking forward to. That’s the next step and we can’t wait,” CTVNews reports said.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

Image of Joshua Kutryk and Jennifer Sidey: CSA