News

NASA “sole sources” a $31.2 million contract to a US firm to “execute demonstrations” on the Canadian built Dextre robot as the James Webb Space Telescope goes so far over budget as to endanger other NASA programs. This seems only to encourage the beleaguered US space agency to obsess painfully about whether it should be listening to “Homer Simpson” or “Elon Musk.” All that and …

The Canadian Press quotes Canadian Space Agency (CSA) president Steve MacLean as stating that Canadian astronauts could end up riding to the International Space Station (ISS) on board commercial vehicles but forgets to ask why or how. Former Optech International Director and current Google Lunar X-Prize competitor Robert Richards dodges the fictional Kobayashi Maru test of character by moving to the US, plus potential Telesat …

NASA follows ESA to put out a call for “commercial suborbital flight services” for microgravity testing, Macdonald Dettwiler (MDA) continues its exceptional run of good luck with government contracts relating to space and military surveillance technologies up 71% from fiscal year 2009 and DEXTRE finally rolls out for duty on board the ISS. All that and my personal best wishes to everyone during the holiday …

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) renewed their cooperative agreement today for another 10 years building upon a unique relationship that has benefited Canada and the European Union. The agreement signed in Paris earlier today by Steve MacLean, President of the Canadian Space Agency and Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA means the two agencies can continue foster cooperation in …

Rocketplane Global‘s CEO George French recalls his failed attempt to build a Space-X competitor with funds from “a Canadian teachers’ pension fund” and academics at the University of Lethbridge attempt a “reawakening of aerospace research in Canada.” Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports a “long awaited revival of nuclear civilian ships” which bodes well for advanced space propulsion technologies. All that and more, this week in …

Mutually assured exclusion (MAE) certainly seems less crazy than mutually assured destruction (MAD) as a space war doctrine, but both could end up poking eyes out and four papers (three space focused) are retracted amid charges of “self-plagiarism” and “bogus authorship” at Queens University plus launch companies beg NASA to “save the space planes.” All that and more, this week in space for Canada.

US based Bigelow Aerospace comes to Ottawa to remind our astronauts that they have an alternative ride to orbit and a new place to visit after the shuttle retires. Meanwhile, back in the bureaucracy, our proud Canadian military waits patiently for a new, but not terribly different, space defence policy update and in Saint-Hubert, others prefer to ignore astronauts and businesses to instead focus on …

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced today that is has been accepted as a full member of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). The committee is a forum for the coordination of activities related to the issues of man-made and natural debris in space.

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 …