Astronaut has fond memories of RMC
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KINGSTON - While Canadian astronaut Maj. Jeremy Hansen stood out in his bright blue Canadian Space Agency flight suit at the Royal Military College of Canada, he said he felt right at home.
On Friday Hansen spoke at Queen's University about his career as an astronaut. On Saturday he saw where his career began as a first-year cadet.
"For me I have such fond memories, not all good memories, some trying and challenging times at RMC but it is such a rich part of my past, I really feel like this institution contributed a great deal to my development," Hansen told the Whig-Standard on Saturday. "So me for me it is a tremendous homecoming."
Hansen said RMC prepared him for his career by letting him learn, which is what being an astronaut is all about.
"This is the place where I learned how to learn," Hansen said. "I learned how to solve problems and approach academic problems a different way, and create a solution. It is a very important skill-set I still use today."
Still an active member of the Canadian Air Force and a pilot of the CF-18, being in Kingston and around RMC has allowed the astronaut to reconnect with his military roots.
"Something else that had really fostered at RMC is teamwork," Hansen said. "If you think about the astronauts that are on board of the international space station, it takes an enormous team that enables them to actually be in space and to get the job done. That sense of how to fit into a team, and how to contribute to a team and how to leverage the capabilities of a team, I learned at RMC."
Saturday morning Hansen attended the badging parade, where first-year cadets are presented with the RMC cap badge after completing the first-year orientation period and the obstacle course. That afternoon he attended 25th anniversary of the first graduates of the Space Sciences program at the university.
"I took Space Science, not because you have to take Space Science to be an astronaut, I took it out of passion, out of interest. It was an area I thought was important, and it was a developing area for Canada, and an important skill-set to have," Hansen said. "In hindsight it's served me tremendously well."
Part of the celebration included a tour of Space Sciences and Physics departments at RMC. Things have definitely changed, said Hansen, especially at a place that is constantly evolving. He noted how far programs have come in the studies.
"One thing about Space Science is that it is a mix of different aspects of academia," Hansen said of why someone would choose to study Space Science. "It's a science degree, but it also included many engineering courses. We like to contain things in boxes, but what the Space Sciences program did for me is that it allowed me to take a cross section of courses that I thought were particularly interesting."
With commercial companies developing cheaper methods of getting to space, Hansen said studying and working in the growing field of space science is a viable and timely option.
"Canada is heavily involved in space science, we're one of the leaders in the world with respect to certain key space technologies," he said.
Earlier this summer the Canadian Space Agency opened up a recruitment drive for Canada's next two astronauts. The initial deadline for applications passed in mid-August and preselection took place around the same time, and then an online public service entrance exam at the end of August. The next set of dates are confidential but the next steps include preliminary interviews and medical tests, more tests and medical examinations as well as security clearance, and and then a final interview and even more medical examinations.
The plan is to make the selection announcement in the summer of 2017.
For those going through the selection process, Hansen's advice is to be genuine.
"It's really important that you bring the real, authentic you to the process," Hansen said. "If we're going to hire somebody, we want to feel that we really know the individual ... the reality of it is that we have to choose two astronauts out of so many qualified Canadians who would do an amazing job.
"Just present your best self and see what happens."
Hansen said world space exploration is on the move, and by the time this year's first-year graduate in 2020, things will have definitely developed.
"The 2020s are going to look completely different from this decade with the respect to space exploration," Hansen said. "The 2030s are going to blow people's minds. It's a really amazing field to be getting into and Canada is going to need a lot of talented and educated people to fufill that role."
scrosier@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/StephattheWhig
