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The year 2017 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the space age and no doubt the major spacefaring countries of the world will mark this occasion, but it is unlikely that Canada will be among them. For some strange reason, despite its direct involvement in the exploration and exploitation of outer space since the very dawn of the space age, Ottawa seems to have forgotten how …

Hey, am I at the right conference? A first-time visitor might be forgiven for feeling a little confused. There was certainly no shortage of bleeding-edge science and engineering – asteroid mining, anyone? – but for much of this three-day event, the air was abuzz with talk of bootstrapping, venture capital funding (or lack thereof), pivoting, culture-building, and various and sundry other facets of the startup …

In an effort to educate the public on how satellite data is used by farmers to help the “development of sustainable agriculture practices and what impact they have on the food we eat,” the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation opened up the Space to Spoon exhibit in Moncton today.

The Canadian Space Agency is again looking for input from the space community for the Space Technology Development Program (STDP), this time with an emphasis on Industrial Capability. It was just two weeks ago that they were soliciting input for 17 priority technologies.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut candidate pool is down to 32 according to a tweet the agency posted to Twitter.  Of those remaining, 12 live and work abroad, 11 are women and 9 are in the armed forces. A list of the remaining candidates is available here.

Today the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) posted notice that it is beginning a consultation process on the Licensing Framework for Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) Systems and clarification of application procedures for all satellite licence applications. After the consultation, which has no set time frame, ISED will release updated documents for the Policy Framework for Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) and Broadcasting-Satellite Service (BSS) and Licensing of Space Stations.

In what is a sign of the changing times, a collaboration between Old Space and New Space, an effort begun less than a year ago resulted in the first joint event, the Space 2.0 Round Table, between the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), Old Space, and the Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA), New Space.

In this weeks Short Cuts we talk about another blockbuster deal by MDA in the acquisition of DigitalGlobe, Deep Space Industries revenue revealed, GHGSat confirms it will acquire two more satellites, the Canadian Space Agency wants your input on technology development and more.

It turns out the acquisition of Space Systems Loral (SSL) in 2012 was just the opening act in MDA’s U.S. strategy. Today the company announced that it was acquiring DigitalGlobe for $3.1 billion (US$2.4 billion) in shares and cash. The deal includes taking on DigitalGlobe’s $1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion) in net debt. Both companies reported their 2016 revenue today, which when combined, is just over $3 …

Today NASA announced another exciting find in its quest to find exoplanets and habitable worlds. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years from space and today astronomers announced the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets, three of which are in the star’s habitable zone and could host oceans of surface water.