Fifteen years ago, Joshua Kutryk delivered the Star on his bicycle. Now he's waiting to see if he'll be the next Canadian to be delivered to the stars in a space ship.

Kutryk is one of 16 people shortlisted for the two open spots on the Canadian Space Agency's roster of astronauts.

The 26-year-old fighter pilot is originally from small-town Alberta, but lived in the Yukon for six years, and began his career here as an air cadet with the 551 Squadron.

Before graduating from high school, he earned his private pilot's licence and was well on his way to achieving his childhood dream.

"Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to go to space and fly a fast machine," Kutryk told the Star this week.

He hasn't been to space yet, but he's certainly flying some fast machines.

Kutryk quickly graduated to his commercial pilot's licence, then went on to the Royal Military Academy, where he earned his stripes as an F-18 fighter pilot.

"It's a perfect job me right now," he says of his work flying NORAD missions and training exercises with both American and Canadian military pilots. "So if this space agency thing doesn't work out, I still get to come out to a dream job."

Kutryk is the youngest of the 16 doctors, scientists and pilots who have been shortlisted for the job. His steadily expanding résumé - on top of being a captain in the Canadian Armed Forces, he holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and is just completing his Master's in aeronautical science - hasn't reached the heights that some of his competitors' have.

"I actually didn't expect to make it too far in the process because of my age and my experience. My résumé isn't as developed as some of the other applicants," he says.

"I still haven't figured out what they were looking for - I think the biggest thing is diversity of experience."

And he must be doing something right to have been picked last spring, along with 78 others, from a stack of almost 5,200 applications.

The list was cut down to 39 after a round of preliminary interviews. In January, that group was sent to Quebec for four days of testing that covered robotics, flying, fitness and water proficiency.

From there, another eight were cut, and 31 hopefuls went to Nova Scotia for another four days; this time to test their survival skills.

"The one I'll never forget is when they strapped me into a helicopter, then dropped it upside down into a pool."

The test was simple: Get out before you drown.

Another survival test saw the applicants matching wits against a steadily rising tide of freezing water. Testees were put in a pitch black, sealed tank and had to try to stop the flow of water with only the simplest tools and explanations to work with.

"They would give us 15 minutes of instruction for something you could easily spend an entire week training on, then throw us in there."

He describes being pulled out of the tank, his body temperature dangerously low, and being put in front of an enormous control panel which he had seen only once before.

"So there you are in the early stages of hypothermia and you have to figure out how to get this thing working when all you have to go on is a brief introduction given days ago - and the whole time there is a team of psychologists watching and recording your every move.

"It's a very humbling experience."

And it's not just physical tests. After the four days in Nova Scotia, the list was cut to 16 who were sent to Toronto for medical and psychological tests.

There are written exams, hours spent being questioned by doctors and psychologists.

"You don't know what they're looking for," Kutryk says of the myriad of questions he was asked.

Have you ever been in a fist fight? What research papers have you written? Do you scuba dive? When was the last time you were frightened?

"So the only thing to do is be honest."

Afterward, the aspiring astronauts sit together and try to analyze what they've done.

Failing to complete the tests, they've come to realize, is a given. Trying to figure out what it is the agency is looking for, "is just shovelling fog," says Kutryk, but that doesn't stop them.

"They're amazing," he says of his fellow hopefuls. "Meeting them has been absolutely humbling and equally inspiring."

Any competition that may have existed between them is long gone, he says.

"Now it's just camaraderie. We've all become friends and the 14 who don't get picked may be a bit disappointed, but we're all going to be proud of whoever makes it."

For Kutryk, if he doesn't get picked by the space agency, he has other plans for himself.

"What I endeavour to do is become an experimental pilot ... eventually I would want to be in a test facility, flying machines that no one has ever flown before."