OTTAWA— Astrophysicist, engineer and medical doctor David Saint-Jacques, 46, will be flying to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2018, the Minister of Science and Innovation said at a news conference Monday morning.

Saint-Jacques has been assigned to a six-month mission aboard the ISS, Minister of Science and Innovation Navdeep Bains announced this morning.

“I promise to live up to your expectations,” Saint-Jacques told a group of school children gathered at an Ottawa museum for the announcement.

“A mission like this makes Canada much bigger.”

Saint-Jacques will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in November 2018 to join an international crew onboard the orbiting laboratory. It will be the first mission for David Saint-Jacques and will mark the 17th space flight for the Canadian Astronaut Corps, the Canadian Space Agency said in a news release.

LIVE: Canadian Space Agency

Saint-Jacques says he was inspired to be an astronaut by the many Canadians who preceded him.

He’ll become the ninth Canadian to travel to space, six of whom worked at the International Space Station. In all, Canadians have made 16 space flights to date.

“These men and women have captured our imagination, motivated us to work and study harder, and inspired us to be our best,” said Bains.

During his time in space, the astronaut will conduct a series of scientific experiments, robotics tasks and technology demonstrations, the details of which will be revealed later this year, it said.

Last year, then-industry minister James Moore announced that two Canadian astronauts would be going to the space station by 2024 — one by 2019 and one by 2024 — but he didn’t say who would be first.

The options were Jeremy Hansen, 40, and David Saint-Jacques, 46, the only active members of the Canadian Astronaut Corps.

Saint-Jacque’s resume says he is also lifelong mountaineer, cyclist, skier and avid sailor.

Chris Hadfield, who was commander of the ISS in 2013, was the most recent Canadian in space.

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