In the last week both Neptec and MDA, two of Canada’s leading commercial space companies, have been awarded contracts by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to build a Lunar Exploration Light Rover (LELR) prototype. The awards come four and half months after the CSA issued a request for proposals whereby up to two contracts would be awarded for $11.5 million each. Each team has until …

The last Canadian space policy released by the Department of National Defence (DND) was in 1998 and the DND is set to release an updated though not substantially changed policy early in the new year, this according to Colonel Andr Dupuis, Director of the DND’s Directorate of Space Development known as D Space D.

The Canadian Space Agency and MDA Geospatial Services today released high-resolution mosaics of Canada, the United States, Australia, Africa and Antartica. The mosaics are the product of 15 years of data collected by RADARSAT-1, Canada’s first commercial earth observation satellite.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) released a new geospatial product yesterday, the National Urban Change Indicator. Initially targeted at the U.S. market the product will cover the lower 48 U.S. States.

Last week the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Independent Comprehensive Review Panel released its final report on significant cost overruns and mismanagement by NASA over the course of its development. The cost overruns have not and will not affect Canada’s contributions according to the Canadian Space Agency.

This year the Prime Minister’s Awards (PMA) for Teaching Excellence now features a new Space Award. One Certificate of Excellence will be offered to a teacher (or teaching team) who has demonstrated outstanding innovative and creative teaching in the areas of space sciences, technology, engineering and/or mathematics in a K-12 setting.

Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield gives us a rare look inside the Soyuz simulator in Star City, Russia. Hadfield is training for his upcoming long-duration mission on board the International Space Station (ISS). Set to launch aboard a Soyuz rocket in December 2012, Chris will become the first Canadian Commander of the ISS during the second half of Expedition 34/35.

CSA Astronaut Chris Hadfield pilots a T-38 – a supersonic jet trainer – flying from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Houston, Texas. The T-38 is NASA’s primary aircraft for astronaut training. Hadfield is training for his third space mission scheduled for December of 2012. He will become the first Canadian to command the International Space Station.

While Com Dev International slowly builds its government satellite business, the James Webb Space Telescope gains the reputation of being a “a giant money sponge.” Meanwhile, our own CBC Mother Corp prefers to ignore real space in favour of suborbital stories from long dormant “coulda been” contenders. Brother can you spare a dime to grow my ratings, this week in space for Canada.