Yaroslav Pustovyi
Yaroslav Pustovyi (born 29 December 1970) is a former Ukrainian astronaut. Pustovyi was one of the first astronauts selected by the State Space Agency of Ukraine in 1996. Although he was a backup payload specialist on the 1997 NASA space mission STS-87, he did not fly on the mission. Pustovyi was awarded the Order of Merit for Ukraine in 1998 and competed for the Ansari X Prize in 2003 on the Canadian Arrow team.
Yaroslav Pustovyi | |
---|---|
Ярослав Пустовий | |
Born | |
Awards | Order of Merit (Ukraine) |
Space career | |
Previous occupation | Electromagnetism researcher |
Rank | First lieutenant, Ukrainian Air Force |
Early life and education
On 29 December 1970, Pustovyi was born in Kostroma, Russia and grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine.[1] For his post-secondary education, he graduated from the A.F. Mozhaysky Military-Space Academy in 1993 with a Master of Science. Specializing in radio science, Pustovyi additionally earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the National University of Kharkiv in 1997.[2]
Career
Pustovyi started his career as a first lieutenant in the Ukrainian Air Force during the 1990s. While attending university at Kharkiv, he worked at the National Academy of Scientists of Ukraine as an electromagnetism researcher.[2] In 1996, he was selected as one of the first astronauts by the State Space Agency of Ukraine. The following year, he was a part of STS-87 as a backup payload specialist for NASA but did not fly on the shuttle mission.[3]
Outside of Ukraine, he was a member of the Canadian Arrow team that competed for the Ansari X Prize in 2003.[4] With his family, Pustovyi moved to Barrie, Ontario in 2007 and worked in security. A couple of years later, he became a co-founder of Space 1 Systems in 2009.[3] In 2014, Pustovyi joined the Canadian Space Commerce Association as a board member and later became the organization's president that year.[5][6]
Awards
In January 1998, he was given the Order of Merit by Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma.[7]
Personal life
Pustovyi is married and has three children, Anastasiia, Oksana and Amelie, all of whom grew up in Canada.[8]
References
- "Ukrainian cosmonaut chosen for private venture into space". Ukrainian Weekly. 19 October 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- Ellis, Lee (2004). Who's who of NASA Astronauts (2nd ed.). Americana Group Publishing. p. 453. ISBN 0966796144. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- Ramsay, Janis (21 February 2016). "Barrie astronaut continues to keep eye on skies". Barrie Advance. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- Stenger, Richard (26 June 2003). "Astronaut joins private space race". CNN. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- "The Canadian Space Commerce Association Welcomes New Board Members". Space Ref (Press release). Canadian Space Commerce Association. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- "The CSCA Announces Its First Executive Director". Space Ref (Press release). Canadian Space Commerce Association. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- "Про нагородження відзнакою Президента України - орденом "За заслуги"" [On the awarding of the award of the President of Ukraine - the Order "For Merits"]. Verkhovna Rada (in Ukrainian). 21 January 1998. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- "To Infinity and Beyond" (PDF). Mosaic. No. 9. Local Immigration Partnership. Spring 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2018.