Space Canada is kicking off the first of several in-person events this year with its now annual Space Horizons one day conference on May 1st. This event is preceded by the member only Space Day on the Hill on April 30th.

In preparation for its first orbital launch in 2025 from Spaceport Nova Scotia, Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with The Spaceport Company “to lease a containerized tracking and telemetry station” with an option to purchase multiple stations.

Novaspace, the new entity formed from the Euroconsult and SpaceTec Partners merger, has released its High Throughput Satellites (HTS) market report which details how Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) constellations are “redefining the High Throughput Satellites market landscape.”

SpaceQ has learned that Canadian government and the United States are getting close to concluding negotiations for a Technology Safeguards Agreement between the two countries and that negotiations have been proceeding well. An agreement would benefit companies like Maritime Launch Services, allowing American launch providers and payloads to use facilities like Spaceport Nova Scotia.

The Canadian Space Agency has extended the International Space Station robotics operations support contract for MDA Space for another five years. The contract extension is for the period between 2025 – 2030, and the value of the contract is $250 million.

Heeding the repeated calls from industry group Space Canada, the federal government has announced that it will create a National Space Council. This and other space related items were in the 2024 budget released yesterday by the Liberal government.

NASA has released the Source Selection Statement for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract that provides details including costs and evaluation scores on the three companies selected, Intuitive Machines, Venturi Astrolab and Lunar Outpost. MDA is a team member of the Lunar Outpost proposal.

GHGSat has appointed Jeffrey Kadanoff as the companies new Chief Financial Officer replacing Francois Rodrigue, a co-founder, who is retiring after 12 years and joining the board of directors.

Kepler Communications has signed an agreement with TESAT-Spacecom and Airbus Defence and Space as partners to develop a high bandwidth optical communications network in low Earth orbit (LEO).

At the 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, the Canadian Space Agency announced it has signed updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UK Space Agency and the Australian Space Agency. They also said they had engaged in bilateral talks with JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.