Yaroslav Pustovyi

Yaroslav Pustovyi
Ярослав Пустовий
Born	(1970-12-29) December 29, 1970 (age 54) Kostroma, Russia
Awards	Order of Merit (Ukraine)
Space career
Previous occupation	Electromagnetism researcher
Rank	First lieutenant, Ukrainian Air Force

Yaroslav "Yarko" Pustovyi (Ukrainian: Пустовий Ярослав Ігорович; born 29 December 1970) is a former Ukrainian astronaut and Canadian businessman.^[1]

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.

Early life and education

On 29 December 1970, Pustovyi was born in Kostroma, Russia and grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine.^[2] 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.^[3]

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 Sciences of Ukraine as an electromagnetism researcher.^[3] 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.^[4]

Outside of Ukraine, he was a member of the Canadian Arrow team that competed for the Ansari X Prize in 2003.^[5] 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.^[4] In 2014, Pustovyi joined the Canadian Space Commerce Association as a board member and later became the organization's president that year.^[6][7]

Awards

In January 1998, he was given the Ukrainian Order of Merit of third degree.^[8]

Personal life

In October 2011, the Pustovyi family received Canadian permanent residency and permanently settled in Simcoe County. Pustovyi is married to Olesia Pustova and has three children, Anastasiia, Oksana and Amélie, all of whom grew up in Canada. Pustovyi is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, and French.^[1]

References

1. "To Infinity and Beyond" (PDF). Mosaic. No. 9. Local Immigration Partnership. Spring 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
2. "Ukrainian cosmonaut chosen for private venture into space". Ukrainian Weekly. 19 October 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
3. Ellis, Lee (2004). Who's who of NASA Astronauts (2nd ed.). Americana Group Publishing. p. 453. ISBN 0966796144. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
4. Ramsay, Janis (21 February 2016). "Barrie astronaut continues to keep eye on skies". Barrie Advance. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
5. Stenger, Richard (26 June 2003). "Astronaut joins private space race". CNN. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
6. "The Canadian Space Commerce Association Welcomes New Board Members". Space Ref (Press release). Canadian Space Commerce Association. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
7. "The CSCA Announces Its First Executive Director". Space Ref (Press release). Canadian Space Commerce Association. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
8. "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.