Continuing with our Summer Reading Series of articles or interviews that still have some relevance today, we present Craig Covault’s June 2013 article The New Race for the Moon from Space Quarterly Magazine.
Read More »Business Matters, Even in Space, Especially in Space – Thoughts and Highlights From Ascension 2017
Hey, am I at the right conference? A first-time visitor might be forgiven for feeling a little confused. There was certainly no shortage of bleeding-edge science and engineering – asteroid mining, anyone? – but for much of this three-day event, the air was abuzz with talk of bootstrapping, venture capital funding (or lack thereof), pivoting, culture-building, and various and sundry other facets of the startup …
Read More »Harrison Schmitt Talks Commercial Moon and Mars
As a member of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, former NASA Astronaut Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt was the last man to step onto the Moon. This week, Schmitt descended on Western University in London, Ont. to participate in the 2012 Canadian Space Summit.
Read More »This Week in Space for Canada
Space tourist Guy Lalibert publishes his orbital scrapbook, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts step up their efforts to remind us that they “still have a bright future,” although maybe not as government astronauts and the new federal minister of industry (who’s also responsible for the CSA) has a background in agriculture and natural resources management, which should give him a understanding of the growing space …
Read More »This Week in Space for Canada
MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA) promises to either buy a space company with US roots or else return to shareholders the $793 million CDN acquired from the January sale of it’s property-information business. Maybe they should talk with executives at Telesat, who declined again to discuss efforts to sell their company during the quarterly Telesat conference call on Thursday. Meanwhile, back in academia, researchers at the University …
Read More »This Week in Space for Canada
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) remembers it’s past and ponders it’s future, COM DEV International subsidiary exactEarth Ltd. successfully launches its automatic identification system (AIS) payload from India and campaigning ex-astronaut and current politician Marc Garneau discusses innovation, entrepreneurship and public policy this Wednesday. All that and more, this week in space for Canada.
Read More »This Week in Space for Canada
In space, no one can hear your electioneering, which could mean curtains for Canada’s never released and long buried, long term space plan. Plus, a Canadarm actually retires to Canada, although we’re not quite sure just where yet (after all, my Canada always included Florida, especially in the winter) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just keeps needing more money, more money and more …
Read More »This Week in Space for Canada
It looks like there will be snowmobiles on the Moon (or at least designs for them) as MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA) subcontracts out a portion of it’s Canadian Space Agency (CSA) rover contract to Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). Bob Richards also leaps for the Moon (again, but with a different company) and satellite operator Telesat sits at the top of Ottawa business revenue generators where it …
Read More »This Week in Space for Canada
As MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA) commences the downsizing of the Brampton based robotics group responsible for the iconic Canadarms, a small group of Canadian Space Agency (CSA) subcontractors and space focused businesses contemplate the “Next Breakthrough Space Technology for Canada.” Meanwhile, Com Dev International subsidiary exactEarth Ltd., wins a contract with the Canadian government and the cost for the James Webb Space Telescope just keeps growing …
Read More »Top Space Focused Companies Critical of Federal Research and Development Funding
SpaceRef has obtained a report by four of Canada’s ten largest space companies in which they are critical of the federal governments implementation of research and development (R&D) funding as outlined in the governments Science and Technology strategy “Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage.” One of the reasons cited is that “the pendulum has swung too far away from direct funding for companies at …
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