Advertisement 1

Locally connected astronaut hopefuls step closer to space

Article content

Six Royal Military College graduates and a graduate of Queen’s University’s School of Medicine are among 17 finalists competing to be Canada’s next two astronauts.

The finalists were announced by Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, at a news conference in Toronto on Monday. This summer the Canadian Space Agency will select two of the finalists to be the nation’s newest astronauts.

The finalists with Kingston connections:

• Vanessa Fulford: The Fort McMurray, Alta., native has a bachelor’s degree in space science from RMC (2006). A flight test engineer with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alta., she works in the Fighter and Trainer Evaluations Section, primarily with the CF-188 Hornet fighter aircraft.

• Michael Anthony Jordan: The Halifax native has a bachelor’s degree in computer software from RMC (2003). He’s now a lead test pilot with the Department of National Defence and embedded with the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin Development Flight Centre in Jupiter, Fla.

• Joshua Kutryk: A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., he has two degrees from RMC: a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and a master’s in defence studies. He is stationed in Cold Lake, Alta., where he’s an experimental test pilot and fighter pilot. He leads the unit responsible for the operational flight testing of fighter aircraft in Canada.

• Robert Riddell: The Belleville native has a bachelor’s degree in chemical and materials engineering from RMC. He’s a medical officer in the Canadian Armed Forces based in Ottawa. A former varsity hockey player at RMC, Riddell said former Paladins coach Jacques Tremblay was a major influence in his life.

“The first person who came to mind when reading this question was not a teacher per se but a university hockey coach, Jacques Tremblay,” Riddell said in his bio on the Canadian Space Agency website. “Through his actions, he taught me that people will often work harder to keep trust than to gain it. This has greatly influenced my leadership approach in the military and in medicine.”

• Andreane Vidal: The Montreal native has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from RMC. She is stationed at CFB Trenton where, according to her CSA bio, she’s responsible for research and development of specialized response capabilities in the event of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents.

• Michelle Whitty: The Winnipeg native has two degrees from RMC: a bachelor’s in civil engineering and a master’s in civil engineering/biomedical engineering. A captain and combat engineering officer who served in Afghanistan, she is completing her residency in family medicine at the University of Calgary. She’s also the mother of three young children: Claire, 4; Rachel, 2; and Alec, two months.

• Jesse Zroback: A native of Richmond, Va., he graduated from the family residency program at Queen’s University’s School of Medicine. He’s now a family physician in Marathon in northern Ontario.

The recruitment campaign by the Canadian Space Agency began in June 2016. There were more than 3,700 applicants from the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

mnorris@postmedia.com

Article content
Advertisement 2
Advertisement
Article content
Article content
Latest National Stories
    News Near Kingston
      This Week in Flyers