The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) delegation led by President Lisa Campbell had a full itinerary at last weeks 72nd International Astronautical Congress in Dubai.
Among the agreements signed by the CSA were a couple memorandum of understanding’s (MOU) with the United Kingdom (UK) Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and a renewal of their partnership with the French Space Agency, CNES.
The UK Space Agency issued a news release with a few details on the agreement saying “The agreement provides a framework for collaborative activities and the exchange of information, technology and personnel between both nations.”
The “MOU signing builds on cooperation in space between the two countries in the areas of space science, technology and applications, space policy, law and regulation and human capital development.”
UK Space Agency chief executive, Dr Paul Bate said “This alliance will bring further significant benefits to the thriving space industries of the UK and Canada, allowing us to achieve our goals in space through collaborative efforts in research and innovation.”
In a Tweet on the MOU with the Italian space agency ASI, the CSA said (were) “looking forward to working with ASI on advancing space science.” No other details on the agreement were released.
CSA President Lisa Campbell elected as IAF VP
The International Astronautical Federation which organizes the annual International Astronautical Congress elected a new President and 4 Vice-Presidents (VP). The new VP’s join eight others. Four VP’s are changed every year and serve three year terms.
The new President is Clay Mowry, Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing & Customer Experience at Blue Origin.
The new four new VP’s include Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell, Steven Eisenhart, Senior Vice President of the Space Foundation, Davide Petrillo, Executive Director of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and Lionel Suchet, Chief Operating Officer at the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES).
Other meetings
The CSA provided SpaceQ with a list of meetings the delegation had while in Dubai. They included:
- Meeting with Mubadala Investment Company – Global Affairs Canada, MDA and Mission Control Services were also there. Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor that “manages a diverse portfolio of assets and investments in the United Arab Emirates and abroad, to generate sustainable financial returns for its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi.”
- Meeting with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
- Meetings with Nanoracks, NASA, a NASA-led multilateral meeting on Space Exploration, SNSA (Swedish National Space Agency), JAXA (Japan’s space agency), DLR (German space agency), and Airbus.
- JAXA, DLR, and CSA signed a letter of intent to create an international forum focused on sharing best practices for HR with diversity and inclusion at the forefront.
- Meetings with CNES, Lockheed Martin, UKSA (UK Space Agency), MDA-Orbital Reef Team (Blue Origin, Sierra Space, & Redwire – Boeing not present).
- Signed Memorandum of Understanding with UKSA that facilitates further collaboration on space activities.
- Renewed agreement with CNES (France space agency).
- CSA President also spoke at the 20th Anniversary of the Disaster Charter, representing CSA as one of the three founding members.
- Meetings with Virgin Orbit, Israel Space Agency (ISA), UAESA (United Arab Emirates Space Agency), Italian Space Agency(ASI), Director of United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and Blue Origin.
- Signed Memorandum of Understanding with ASI on peaceful cooperation.