Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk launches on SpaceX Crew-13 for six-month ISS stay

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Colonel Joshua Kutryk blasted off Thursday for his first spaceflight, riding a SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule on NASA’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station for an expected six-month stay.

Liftoff from Cape Canaveral came on time at 11:10 a.m. ET. Kutryk flew with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins (commander) and Luke Delaney (pilot) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. The crew was due to dock after roughly eight hours. From orbit Kutryk said, “I’m in space. I don’t really believe it yet.” The CSA said he will contribute to Canadian and international experiments focused largely on health — including physical training, mental health, bone density, cardiorespiratory health, orientation, anemia and ocular rigidity — plus robotics work, maintenance and outreach to Canadian classrooms. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly attended the NASA press site and called it “a big year for Canada,” coming about six months after Jeremy Hansen flew on Artemis II.

Crew-13 is the CSA’s fourth long-duration ISS mission and its first under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; with this flight Canada will have sent 11 astronauts on 19 space missions. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman told CBC that Canada’s robotics expertise will matter for a future lunar base architecture after Lunar Gateway was cancelled in favour of accelerated Artemis surface plans. Joly said Canada wants a larger role, “particularly on the robotic side,” and is ready to go “further, faster” with NASA.

The launch keeps Canadian science and robotics visibly tied to human spaceflight even as lunar architecture shifts — and gives Ottawa a soft-power and STEM moment while Kutryk works Canadian experiments in orbit.

Sources: CBC News; Canadian Space Agency via NewsWire.