News

Call it an orbiting Edward Scissorhands. Although Dextre’s first major robotic work on the International Space Station this month was delayed due to a snagged truss, both the Canadian Space Agency and NASA anticipate it will replace spacewalkers for minor outside tasks during and after the station’s construction. Launched in 2008 aboard STS-123, the Canadian robotic hand – built by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates in …

Today the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) issued through the tender service MERX a request for two separate firms to carry out a study on the RADARSAT Next Generation Options Study. The primary objective of the study work is to perform an in-depth evaluation of the Department of Defence (DND) requirements for surveillance radars and identify implementation options in a system that would enter into operation …

The Winnipeg Free Press reminds us that the Canadian aerospace industry has always straddled a dense political minefield while European based independent advocate Catherine Laplace-Builhe promotes the Canadian Space Agency (or at least she did until US based Facebook shut her down) and the Canadian contractor for the upcoming ExoMars mission reminds me personally that they consider their Canadian contribution to be “significant” and something …

See the steps of Dextre’s final exam. Working from his perch on the end of Canadarm2, Dextre will close in on his target, unbolt the first circuit breaker and remove it. He will then back up slightly to give himself more room to rotate at the waist in order to align his free hand with the second circuit breaker, and will grab it and slide …

Entrevue avec Mathieu Caron, Dextre Contrleur de vol. Dextre est le robot le plus perfectionn jamais construit selon l’agence spatiale canadienne. Il est d’effectuer des travaux courants d’entretien et de rparation, comme le changement de batteries et le remplacement de camras l’extrieur de l’ISS.

Leslie Sponder is an Operations Engineer and Mission Planner who works with the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or as it is better know as, Dextre. Dextre is the most sophisticated space robot ever built according to the Canadian Space Agency. It is designed to help in maintaining the health of the International Space Station (ISS). Dextre’s role is to perform maintenance work and repairs like …

Entrevue avec Serge Gaudreau, Dextre Concepteur principal de systmes didactiques. Dextre est le robot le plus perfectionn jamais construit selon l’agence spatiale canadienne. Il est d’effectuer des travaux courants d’entretien et de rparation, comme le changement de batteries et le remplacement de camras l’extrieur de l’ISS .

Daniel Lefebvre is a Staff Systems Engineer who works with the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or as it is better know as, Dextre. Dextre is the most sophisticated space robot ever built according to the Canadian Space Agency. It is designed to help in maintaining the health of the International Space Station (ISS). Dextre’s role is to perform maintenance work and repairs like changing batteries …

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency have joined to share resources and expertise on three future science missions to Mars. In three separate robotic missions (the first in 2016), both agencies will study the possibility of past life on the Red Planet, as well as test communications relays and other geochemical and biological mysteries. The third mission, in the 2020’s, …

With the Wall Street Journal reporting that shrinking budgets and national rivalries are slowly undermining European space programs and the Asia Times noting that the cash strapped National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is still able to find US$30 million in new funding for Google Lunar X-Prize (GLXP) contestants and the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) opening it’s Canadian Arctic doors to collect data for …