News

NASA Tweetup Rolls with "Wheels"

Astronaut and Expedition 25 Commander Doug “Wheels” Wheelock was the honored guest at a Tweetup held at NASA Headquarters on Mar. 16. More than 90 “Tweeps,” or users of the social medium Twitter, were on hand to see Wheelock’s presentation of his recent five-month-plus stay aboard the International Space Station.

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MDA Signs Intelsat as Anchor Tenant for On-Orbit Servicing

MDA 2017 satellite servicing concept

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Intelsat S.A. as its anchor tenant for its Space Infrastructure Servicing (SIS) vehicle which could be in service by 2015. This is a major step forward for the Richmond, BC headquartered company as it helps create a new commercial space segment.

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This Week in Space for Canada

As MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA) commences the downsizing of the Brampton based robotics group responsible for the iconic Canadarms, a small group of Canadian Space Agency (CSA) subcontractors and space focused businesses contemplate the “Next Breakthrough Space Technology for Canada.” Meanwhile, Com Dev International subsidiary exactEarth Ltd., wins a contract with the Canadian government and the cost for the James Webb Space Telescope just keeps growing …

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What are the Next Breakthrough Space Technologies for Canada?

Next Friday in Toronto the Canadian Space Commerce Association will be holding it’s annual meeting with the theme The Next Breakthrough Space Technologies for Canada. The event will bring together executives, business owners, independent consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, engineers, R&D managers and students. Some of Canada’s top commercial space companies will be represented along with smaller new companies, academia, the military and the Canadian Space …

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Top Space Focused Companies Critical of Federal Research and Development Funding

SpaceRef has obtained a report by four of Canada’s ten largest space companies in which they are critical of the federal governments implementation of research and development (R&D) funding as outlined in the governments Science and Technology strategy “Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage.” One of the reasons cited is that “the pendulum has swung too far away from direct funding for companies at …

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Growth in Space Utilization to Benefit Canadians

He didn’t once mention the term “geomatics,” but that is certainly what Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Steve MacLean was referencing when he said that data obtained about the Earth from space “now has the precision to contribute meaningfully to Earth based activities” such as resource tracking, mining, farming and industry. MacLean made the comment during his keynote address at the University of Toronto Space …

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This Week in Space for Canada

The US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency exercises an option for more data from RADARSAT II and COM DEV International hires the very experienced ex-president of Rogers Telecom and Spar Space Systems to sit on the HR and compensation committees. Meanwhile, back in the ivory tower, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) posts two new funding opportunities for Canadian universities looking to participate in the Mars Science Laboratory. …

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