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St. John Paul II Catholic School in Bolton is the new home of an out-of-this world space experience in the form of a Canadian mission control centre for the world’s first ever elementary-school built satellite.
Through the support and partnership of Canadensys Aerospace, a space services company founded by industry veteran Christian Sallaberger, the school is participating in the STMSat-1 mission, a CubeSat or small satellite, built by St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia.
The small satellite will be delivered to the International Space Station in June on a cargo resupply mission where an astronaut will deploy it.
“We are thrilled to be partnered with St. John Paul II School, and our American colleagues at St. Thomas More School and NASA, to provide Canadian grade school students with the first-hand experience of a real space mission” said Christian Sallaberger, President of Canadensys Aerospace. “Missions such as STMSat-1 have the unique potential to engage, inspire and teach about international cooperation. It is a privilege to be able to bring this experience to children.”
George Consitt, Principal of St. John Paul II School added “All of our students, from Kindergarten through Grade 8, will have a chance to participate in an actual space mission in various ways. This is a truly unique experience that has fired the imaginations of teachers and students alike. We are happy to partner with St. Thomas More School and the engineers and staff at Canadensys Aerospace to make this possible.”
“We are delighted to announce Saint John Paul II School in Canada as our first international Remote Mission Operations Centre (RMOC) for the STMSat-1 mission. Our hope is that STMSat-1 can help inspire children around the world to pursue careers in science and engineering,” said Joseph Pellegrino, the STMSat-1 Mission Manager at St. Thomas More School, following a recent visit to the RMOC in Canada.
