Short Cuts: COM DEV Wins CSA Optics Contracts, STEM Program and a Full Calendar

Today we’re introducing our new Tuesday feature, Short Cuts. These are short notes on awarded contracts, new tenders, upcoming notable events and any noteworthy news.

If you would like to submit a Short Cut, please email us at [email protected] with the words Short Cuts in the subject line.

In today’s Short Cuts:

COM DEV Wins Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Optics Contracts

In August the CSA issued a Space Technologies Development tender to develop and advance two Priority Technologies that are in line with the CSA’s priorities and astronomy mission roadmaps.

On October 25th and 26th two contracts were awarded to COM DEV totalling just under $2.3 million.
SpaceRef contacted the CSA for more details and they responded with the following:

“These two contracts, valued at a total of $2.3M, are aimed at developing high precision optical systems suitable for future astronomy missions, which could also be relevant to future hyperspectral imaging missions (on Earth as well as on Mars).”

“These systems include telescope subsystems which consist of mirrors, lenses, mechanisms for fine pointing as well as illumination systems for calibration. The challenge at hand here: to design and deliver technology capable of unprecedented levels of precision.”

“The systems will be designed, built and tested by COM DEV Ltd in their Ottawa and Cambridge (Ontario) facilities, with significant technical contributions from ABB, University of Victoria, University of Toronto and University of Waterloo.”

Related links:

CSA Issues Tender for STEM Strategic Plan and Program

Yesterday the CSA issued a tender for the development of a STEM Strategic Plan and Program. The deadline for submissions is November 23, 2016 at 2:00 PM EST.
Objectives

  1. Develop, in support of the CSA, a CSA Space STEM Plan for primary and secondary level youth, and students in colleges and universities.
    • The Plan should aim at increasing youth interest in science and technology and strengthen Canada’s future space workforce with skills and expertise development and partnerships with key stakeholders.
    • The Plan will evidence-based and be used to identify challenges, set priorities, focus energy and resources, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust the organization’s direction in response to government priorities related to STEM.
  2. Building on existing activities, design a space STEM Program for youth aged 12 to 18, and develop a series of documents that will support the Program.
    • This Program should aim at providing Canadian youth with stimulating content and activities to sustain interest and engagement in STEM and position the CSA as the partner of choice for stakeholders working to promote youth engagement in STEM related studies and careers. The objective is to deliver a final, ready-to-implement program.

The Department of Health Canada Issues Remote Sensing Tender

Tender Title: Development of National Scale Predictions of PM2.5 Oxidative Potential Using Remote Sensing Observations at High Spatial Resolution

Health Canada is seeking proposals from a supplier that can develop methodology to combine satellite based information into an estimate of surface concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the following components – sulphate, nitrate, ammonium, metals, organic mass, black carbon, and dust – with coverage of the 10 provinces of Canada and the 48 contiguous states of United States.

Noteworthy Events This Week

  • MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) will host its Third Quarter 2016 Results Conference Call today at 5:00 p.m. ET.
  • Western University is holding a Media Day for its ongoing three week Mars Sample Return Simulation tomorrow from 9 to 10:30 a.m. ET in Western’s Physics and Astronomy Building, Room 100.
    Mission lead, NSERC/MDA/CSA Industrial Research Chair in Planetary Geology Gordon Osinski, as well as representatives from CSA and the NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will be in attendance and available for interviews.
  • Telesat is holding its quarterly call tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. ET after announcing its Preliminary Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2016.

Upcoming Noteworthy Events

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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