Commercial Space

WorldView-3, a high-resolution commercial satellite by DigitalGlobe, is as accurate as it should be according to a study by Vancouver based PhotoSat. In fact, the study shows that WordlView’s 30 centimeter resolution satellite is accurate to within 15 centimeters, a remarkable achievement.

Yesterday a Russian Soyuz 2-1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage launched the Meteor M2 weather satellite as its primary payload. Also on the rocket were smaller secondary satellites including the AISSat-2 nanosatellite built by the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory for Norway.

An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PLSV-C23) rocket launched earlier today carrying the French SPOT-7 earth observation satellite as its primary payload and five small satellites as its secondary payload including two nanosats from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) Space Flight Laboratory.

Futron has released its 2012 Space Competitiveness Index marking the 5th anniversary of the yearly publication. According to the report and for the third year in a row Canada continues to decline in the space competitiveness index though it remains ranked seventh overall. The report says that while Canada retains a skilled space workforce, delays in outlining and implementing a new space policy are “significantly” …

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade led by Minister Ed Fast recently concluded a successful trade mission to Russia that included several companies and organizations from Canada’s space systems sector. Along for the trip from the space systems sector where ABB, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), Neptec Design Group, the Canadian Space Agency and the Aerospace Industries Association of …

Scott Streiner who was recently announced as the Executive Director of the Review of Aerospace and Space Programs and Policies or Aerospace Review, as its being called, will speak this Thursday in Toronto at the bimonthly meeting of the Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA).

The Canadian Space Summit is an annual conference that brings together all elements of the Canadian space industry. In addition to displays, booths, and activities, the centerpiece of the Summit are three days of paper sessions covering a wide variety of topics. Sponsored by the Canadian Space Society, the 2011 summit was recently from November 23 – 25 in Calgary.

There’s good news for Canada’s nano/microsatellite developers as SpaceWorks Commercial has just released a study indicating demand for nano/microsatellites is increasing significantly.

The Canadian Space Commerce Association has criticized the Conservative budget plan to perform a review of Canada’s aerospace and policy programs saying the plans “are not optimal for the requirement of the Canadian space systems sector.”