Matt Bamsey is a Carleton alumnus and one of the 16 candidates remaining in the competition to reach outer space ( Photo: C.J. Roussakis )
Matt Bamsey, a graduate of Carleton’s undergraduate aerospace engineering program, could soon be reaching for the stars. He is one of the top 16 candidates in the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) astronaut recruitment campaign.
The space agency opened up a call for applicants in May 2008.
After being picked from a pool of over 5,000 candidates, he went through interviews and a medical exam at the end of last year.
In January, the final 39 candidates got together for robotics testing in Montreal and in February the final 31 candidates were put into stressful situations such as fires, floods and simulated aircraft crashes.
The 16-person shortlist was announced March 16.
“It’s been a rigorous process. That was quite a challenge, for sure,” he said.
To test “thermal stress,” Bamsey and the other candidates were placed in front of fires they had to extinguish with fire hoses.
“We had to work very hard for about an hour in this very extreme heat.”
On the other end of the spectrum, the candidates had to stand in cold water up to their chest for nearly an hour. At that length of time and that temperature, Bamsey said, they could have become hypothermic.
“That really brought us together as a group,” he said. “We can always see a link in the tests they’re putting us under.”
Bamsey, originally from Guelph, Ont., graduated from Carleton in 2004.
He then did his master’s in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado and is now working on his PhD in environmental biology at the University of Guelph.
Bamsey said he wants to become an astronaut to “share the passion of space exploration with people and students.”
“This has been a lifelong dream since I was very young,” Bamsey said. “That’s why I came to Carleton — because I knew it would be a fitting place to pursue engineering.”
Astronaut-hopefuls have undergone rigorous physical and intellectual challenges as part of their training, such as this underwater puzzle task ( Photo Provided )
Bamsey said he is appreciative of Carleton for providing him learning opportunities and work opportunities at the CSA.
Carleton’s program, he said, has a heavy emphasis on space. He is currently working at the CSA’s space science-planetary exploration division.
At 28, Bamsey is one of the younger candidates. He said, however, that this might give him an advantage for long-term commitment.
Over the next two months, there will be more interviews and medical exams.
In May, two candidates will be selected to join Canada’s Astronaut Corps.
The CSA was established in 1989 and received about $300 million in annual funding from the federal government.
Its activities include recruiting and training astronauts for international missions and developing technology for projects such as the International Space Station. This recruitment campaign is the agency’s third.