The final report form the First Canadian Nanosatellite Workshop recently held on April 23 in Quebec City has been released. Organized in conjunction with the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) ASTRO 2012 Conference the workshop was a result of a previous Canadian Space Agency workshop in 2010 which recommended the establishment of an annual Canadian forum on nanosatellite activities.

The principal findings and recommendations were summarized as:

Nanosatellites and microsatellites have demonstrated a capability to serve operational needs in a cost-effective manner.
Government agencies and funding organizations should explore ways to pool their resources together in order to create a fiscally achievable support program for Canadian nanosatellite development.
Current Canadian funding programs should provide incentives for nanosatellite programs to seek and engage with international programs as a means of maximizing the leveraging of Canadian funds.
A Canadian program analogous to the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Cubesat program should be considered.
The Canadian community should coordinate its efforts with the goal of designing, building, launching and operating a series of nanosatellite missions.

According to the authors of the report “the challenge ahead is to formulate a coherent national strategy that will create a sustainable and fiscally achievable national nanosatellite program that will drive innovation, train the next generation of highly qualified personnel and produce tangible socioeconomic benefits for Canadians.”

Download the final Canadian Nanosat Workshop Report (PDF).