The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has signed its first memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), an Arctic-focused partnership it highlighted on social media this week during the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, Türkiye.
The agreement was signed electronically the week of Sept. 14 by Jean-Claude Piedboeuf, the CSA’s acting president, and Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, NOSA’s director general, signed for their agencies, a CSA representative told SpaceQ in an email.
The agreement’s full title is the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Norwegian Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency Regarding Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Space for Peaceful Purposes.” Under it, the CSA said, the two agencies “will advance collaboration on space-based and dual-use capabilities that support Arctic and northern needs and leverage their shared membership in the European Space Agency to champion projects and opportunities of mutual interest.” The details of the MOU are not available as the CSA does not typically release the full text, the representative said.
That wording closely follows the joint statement Prime Minister Mark Carney and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre issued in Ottawa on Sept. 20, as SpaceQ reported at the time. Both describe “shared membership” in the European Space Agency (ESA), although the two countries’ membership differs: Norway is a full member, while Canada is a Cooperating State that funds and takes part in selected ESA programs.
The CSA publicized the agreement this week in a LinkedIn post, and representatives of the two agencies were photographed with the signed document at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the space sector’s largest international annual gathering, which runs through Friday in Antalya, Türkiye. The post emphasized “space-based Arctic applications, maritime surveillance, as well as climate and environmental monitoring.” “Canada and Norway share a unique connection to the Arctic,” the CSA wrote.
The MOU is the first between the two agencies, but the countries’ space ties go back decades. The Norwegian agency dates its cooperation with Canada to 1990, built around Canada’s RADARSAT satellites, whose data Norway uses to monitor its waters, shipping and sea ice. Toronto’s Space Flight Laboratory and now SFL Missions, has built seven satellites for Norwegian customers.
In March, Canada’s and Norway’s defence ministers signed a letter of intent on space cooperation, including satellite interoperability. In September, Norway’s Kongsberg signed separate MOUs with MDA Space and Telesat covering Arctic surveillance and satellite connectivity.
Norway is hosting a space summit in February, to which Canada has been invited.