'Happiness and pride': Fort Saskatchewan man completes basic astronaut training at NASA

2 Albertans one step closer to space Two Alberta residents recently completed NASA’s training program, becoming the agency’s newest astronauts. CTV’s Amanda Anderson reports.

EDMONTON — A Fort Saskatchewan man shot for the stars — and soon he could be among them.

Joshua Kutryk was one of 13 astronauts to complete NASA's basic training in Houston after two-and-a-half years of what he called challenging work.

"It makes me feel very happy; it makes me feel very proud," Kutryk told CTV News Edmonton following the ceremony. "I'm proud to be from Canada and I'm quite proud of our Canadian Space Program and where it is in the world right now. It's quite remarkable what we've done."

Kutryk has an impressive and lengthy resume. He has a degree in chemical engineeringand masters in space studies, defence studies and flight test engineering.

Before Kutryk became an astronaut, he worked as a fighter pilot with the Canadian Armed Forces.

The NASA training included space station simulators, robotics proficiency and learning how to speak Russian, which Kutryk called "a huge challenge."

And that was only the first part. While Kutryk is now eligible to go to space, he says there's more training and estimates it takes four to five years for new astronauts launch.

For now, Kutryk will work on future space technologies and International Space Station (ISS) operations from Houston.

But Kutryk says the next Canadian astronaut is scheduled to go to space by 2024 — a chance for him to continue his ISS work out of this world.

"To me that's just the most unbelievable thing in the world and it just excites me like nothing else."

Calgarian Jenni Sidey-Gibbons is also part of the graduate list.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson