Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is heading to the ISS next week | CBC News

'I never, ever, ever … thought that I would have this opportunity to go out on behalf of Canada,' he says

It's only been six months since Canada's Jeremy Hansen made history by flying around the moon. Now, it's Joshua Kutryk's turn to blast off into space.

"I never, ever, ever, ever … thought that I would have this opportunity to go out on behalf of Canada and do a mission like this," Kutryk said during a press call on Wednesday.

Kutryk, who was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., is an engineer, fighter pilot and test pilot who has flown more than 4,000 hours on more than 40 different aircraft types.

Kutryk was initially supposed to launch on Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. However, Boeing has suffered big setbacks, delaying its first crewed mission.

Instead, he'll be riding on SpaceX's Crew Dragon. Kutryk was initially supposed to launch on Sept. 12, but there was an issue with the spacecraft, so the launch was delayed to Oct. 1. He said he has faith that the vehicle is ready to fly.

"I'm bringing many things from different Canadian organizations, universities, public service agencies that I'm affiliated with," Kutryk said. "I'm bringing a lot of Canadian flags. This idea of being Canadian is something that has always resonated with me."

Kutryk said the fact that the watch was likely built in the early 1900s, and is now in space, is something special.

"The truth is, the answer to that is the simplest one, and that is: I just can't wait to look out the window," he said.

The Crew 13 launch, as it's called, will also include NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteriatnikov.

It will also be the first space mission for Delaney and Teteriatnikov.

Kutryk says that, while there may be a lot of of unrest here on Earth, the mission illustrates how united the world can be.