MDA Space Aurora

Craig Bamford

Craig started writing for SpaceQ in 2017 as their space culture reporter, shifting to Canadian business and startup reporting in 2019. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists, and has a Master's Degree in International Security from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He lives in Toronto.

Upcoming Private Missions May Be Key Vindication of NASA’s New Lunar Strategy

Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander is encapsulated with ULA's Vulcan rocket

NASA may be headed towards a big strategic win in the next few months. With the scheduled launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One on January 8th, and the coming Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission scheduled for mid-February, the agency could see the vindication of its long-term strategy for lunar mission privatization, and take another step towards a permanent American presence on the Moon.

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Alberta Land Reclamation Combines Space and Land Data

Generation 1 hyperspectral satellites. Credit: Wyvern.

Edmonton-based Earth observation company Wyvern will be working with NorthWind Land Resources on environmental assessment and land reclamation work in Alberta. This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. Fact-driven space news, columns, business, policy, technology and more. Support independent journalism. SUBSCRIBE TODAY

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Obruta to Test Autonomous Spaceflight Technology on the ISS

File photo: May 18, 2022 - Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti monitors Astrobee robotic free-flyers.

Ottawa’s Obruta Space Solutions will be putting their autonomous spaceflight technology to the test next month on the International Space Station (ISS). Their systems for spacecraft vision and for  guidance/navigation, funded in part by a pair of new Space Technology Development Program (STDP) awards, will be tested using the International Space Station’s “Astrobee” drones.  This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. …

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MDA Announces Doubled Presence in UK

MDA in the United Kingdom (UK)

Canadian space company MDA has announced that it will be significantly expanding their operation in the United Kingdom (UK). This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. Fact-driven space news, columns, business, policy, technology and more. Support independent journalism. SUBSCRIBE TODAY

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New Startup Sift Wants to Manage Immense Telemetry Data

Sift Stack

New telemetry management company Sift, fresh from a USD $7.5 million fundraising round and an exit from stealth, is looking to leverage their founders' SpaceX experiences to help manage and store the vast quantities of data generated by space companies, and by many other hardware-focused companies with large quantities of machine-generated data. This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. Fact-driven space …

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EPIC, a New Research Institute Aims to Fill a Gap

Earth and Planetary Institute of Canada (EPIC)

There may be a new home for Canadian space scientists in the coming months and years. A new not-for-profit research institute, called the Earth and Planetary Institute of Canada (EPIC), is aiming to resolve core issues facing Canadian space scientists (and scientists in general) that are looking to do research in Canada outside of the traditional academic sector, while at the same time providing a …

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Canadarm-Based Medical Robot Passes FDA Review

Image-Guided Autonomous Robot (IGAR)

A medical robot based on the Canadarm has recently passed FDA review. Called the Image-Guided Autonomous Robot (IGAR), it lets doctors perform surgery while a patient is inside an MRI scanner, allowing for more complex and difficult surgeries with greater reliability. It’s sold by Insight Medbotics, after being developed by both MDA and the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSii), and it’s yet another …

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Are the Artemis Accords Becoming Something Greater

NASA has announced that Germany is the latest signatory to the Artemis Accords. This makes them the 29th country to sign on to the Accords, which includes signatory countries from around the world: including India, Nigeria, Brazil, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan and Canada, as well as other European signatories like France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy. Are the Accords becoming something greater than …

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