Hornet pilot selected as Canadian astronaut

One of two (bit of catching up, this post):

Jeremy Hansen is an award-winning fighter pilot, and David Saint-Jacques is a medical doctor with a PhD in astrophysics, but now they can both add another title to their prestigious resumés: astronaut.

Canadian Space Agency head and former astronaut Steve MacLean and Industry Minister Tony Clement introduced the newest two members of the country's astronaut corps at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa on Wednesday.

MacLean said knows from experience that their new careers will "will be a fulfilment of an adventure and, as well, personally and professionally fulfilling."

"They will do important work on behalf of Canada and I believe that in the future, they will do important work on behalf of humanity," he added...

Hansen, 33, said he, too, was overwhelmed when he received the phone call at his home in Cold Lake, Alta., on Monday, where he serves as a CF-18 fighter pilot.

Hansen, who was born in London, Ont., and raised in Ingersoll, Ont., is Combat Operations Officer at 4 Wing Cold Lake and holds a number of awards for his proficiency as a pilot [official biography here].

Boyhood dreams

Both men said becoming an astronaut was a boyhood dream. Saint-Jacques said he was inspired by images of Neil Armstrong on the moon and images of the Earth as seen from there, while Hansen said he was simply drawn by "that excitement of flying in space, doing something that's difficult and challenging and maybe even a little risky."

The two have spent the past year going through a rigorous process to be selected from a field of 5,351 applicants. Of those applicants, 79 were chosen for preliminary interviews. Thirty-nine candidates completed flight operation, robotics aptitude and fitness tests, then 31 went to Halifax for tests that examined their ability to deal with high-pressure situations...

MacLean said Hansen's "phenomenal" situational awareness set him apart.

"When we had him in the pressure-type tests … you could tell that under pressure, he's a clear thinker, and David wasn't far behind," MacLean said...

When asked what they hope to do in space, both said they believe a realistic goal will be to serve on the International Space Station, where Canada has slots reserved for its astronauts...

Moon mission a possibility

Both astronauts said they would also jump at the chance to volunteer to go to the moon.

MacLean said given that three missions to the moon are planned starting in 2020 as part of the Global Space Exploration Strategy that Canada is taking part in, that is a possibility.

Before that, however, the two must undergo four to five more years of rigorous training in order to become eligible to serve on space missions.

They will be heading down to NASA's astronaut school in August...