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A Kelowna man and UBCO professor won’t be going into space.
Richard Federley was vying to be selected as Canada’s next astronaut, a job that 3,772 Canadians applied for.
Find out the 17 candidates who will compete to #BeTheNextCDNAstro: https://t.co/niQG9Gv4TF. pic.twitter.com/1UxwFpR0G2
— CanadianSpaceAgency (@csa_asc) April 24, 2017
He had made it down to the final 32 applicants, but on Monday that list was narrowed down to 17 people and Federley wasn’t included.
According to his bio on the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) website, Federley thought he could make a great contribution to the advancement of science and spaceflight.
“I absolutely love to explore and I have an insatiable curiosity to understand how things work,” his bio reads. “I want to become an astronaut because I believe my life experiences, education and scientific knowledge will allow me to significantly contribute to the advancement of science and spaceflight.”
The CSA obviously agreed with him, sticking with him all the way until this recent round of cuts, but making the top 32 is an incredible achievement either way.
The final 17 includes only one B.C. born person in Jason Leuschen, but he now lives in Ontario.
Most of the 17 finalists, which can be viewed here, reside on Ontario or Alberta.
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