An overdue spacecraft development program has affected the plans for one of the major upcoming milestones in Canada’s human spaceflight activities. SpaceX Crew-13 now expects the arrival of Josh Kutryk, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, on the International Space Station no earlier than September 2026 a mission that was initially supposed to involve Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. While a single crew assignment may seem like an anecdote at first sight, the case represents a return to a longer-term station position for Canada and an indication of how modern astronaut careers depend on the robustness of the overall commercial crew program rather than a successful schedule of one specific spacecraft.
Initially scheduled for a trip to ISS aboard Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission, Kutryk has had to find a new place in spaceflight after Starliner’s test flight discovered issues with propellant and thrusters, ultimately forcing the craft to land with no crew onboard. At the time of this writing, NASA was yet to finish testing Starliner’s propulsive performance and thermal stability, delaying its planned mission to 2027 at the earliest.
For Canada, the move represents another step forward in building its station presence based on the capabilities of its engineering expertise rather than any independent means to send people into orbit. Canada has contributed extensively to the station’s construction through robotic equipment like Canadarm2 and related technologies, and continues to benefit from this strategy by converting engineering participation to astronaut assignments on the station.
Moreover, for a person who spent his life flying dozens of planes, teaching others to do the same, and evaluating the very spacecraft that was initially meant to take him to space, Kutryk represents the most extraordinary career profile imaginable among modern astronauts. As a mechanical engineer, CF-18 instructor pilot, and a test pilot, he spent well more than 4,200 flight hours across more than 40 aircraft types before becoming a professional astronaut, as well as taking part in evaluation and testing of Starliner’s design and software as a member of the flight control team, CAPCOM, and test subject.
This particular set of experiences matches the profile of the upcoming voyage perfectly. International Space Station crews never embark upon their space journey without extensive pre-mission training, which typically takes several years in specialized simulators, survival exercises, spacewalk training, emergency response drills, and station and vehicle-specific training in various international centers. According to Canadian Space Agency estimates, preparing for a typical trip to the ISS involves about two years’ worth of training, much of it involving microgravity operations and operating Canadarm2.
His public statements are in line with this approach to astronautics as a whole. “I am honoured to be a part of Crew-13 and represent Canada on this mission,” Josh Kutryk stated in a Canadian Space Agency statement. “To me, space is driven by curiosity, adventure, innovation, and science but above all, collaboration.”
In terms of scientific work aboard the station, it will include various types of research conducted on behalf of the Canadian partner, including human-related studies. More generally, the mission comes during a critical decade of ISS’s existence, amid increasing budget constraints on commercial crew development, and against the backdrop of the need to diversify spacecraft options.