A Canadian of Ukrainian descent will travel to the ISS
Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutrik is scheduled to travel to the International Space Station on October 1 as part of the SpaceX Crew-13 crew. He will take with him into orbit an old pocket watch that his great-grandfather brought from Ukraine to Canada over a hundred years ago.
Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutrik, who has Ukrainian roots, is preparing for a flight to the International Space Station. The launch of the SpaceX Crew-13 mission is scheduled for October 1, 2026. Kutrik will travel to space alongside NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Teteriatnikov. Upon arrival at the station, the crew will join Expedition 75.
This will be Kutrik’s first spaceflight. Before being selected by the Canadian Space Agency in 2017, he was a CF-18 fighter pilot. He also worked as a test pilot and underwent training in the field of space exploration. But the astronaut will take more than just professional gear on the flight. Among his personal belongings will be an old pocket watch with a family history.
According to Kutryk, his great-grandfather brought this watch from Ukraine to Canada in the early 1900s. “It’s a very important keepsake for me, but also an interesting metaphor for how much the world has changed because of human exploration,” the astronaut said. Kutryk plans to keep the watch with him throughout his six-month stay in orbit. The Crew-13 mission involves a long-duration stay on the ISS. The crew will conduct scientific research and technological experiments designed to help better prepare for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.
In particular, during this expedition, NASA plans to study how prolonged stays in space affect the human body. Among the objectives are studies of blood circulation and clotting, changes in vision and brain function, as well as the physical conditioning of the astronauts. NASA and SpaceX are currently preparing for the launch. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on October 1 at 11:10 a.m. Eastern Time. If the launch goes according to plan, Crew-13 is expected to reach the ISS in less than nine hours.
For Joshua Kutrik, this will be more than just his first flight into space. He will take with him into orbit a small item that traveled from Ukraine to Canada over a century ago—and will now journey even further, into space. This is reported on the NASA website.
