Technology

On January 14th of this year, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched the first 10 satellites of the Iridium Next satellite constellation. This coming Sunday another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch, with the next 10 satellites in the constellation to be deployed.

Alberta’s first satellite Ex-Alta 1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 18 on a cargo resupply spacecraft and on May 26 it was successfully deployed from the ISS.

The Canadian Space Agency issued the expected Space Technology Development Program Industrial Capability – Building Contributions announcement of opportunity (AO) today. 

The Canadian Space Commerce Association has issued a Call for Papers for the 2017 Canadian SmallSat Symposium. The symposium in meant to be an annual event, and this is the second time the CSCA is organizing it.

In the recently announced budget the government had announced $80.9 million in new funding for the Canadian Space Agency over five years. We now know a little more about the projects the funds will go to.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is getting involved with NASA’s annual Space Apps Challenge with a set of challenges of its own for this weekends event in Ottawa, Toronto and Waterloo.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) this morning issued its latest request for proposal (RFP), this time for Development of Enabling Space Technologies. This latest RFP is is part of the Space Technology Development Program geared towards developing priority technologies.

As expected the Canadian Space Agency has begun to release the first in series of Request for Proposals (RFP) related to future post-ISS human spaceflight, space exploration and space astronomy with the release of its Lunar Surface Mobility Concept RFP.

Maritime Launch Services (MLS) will announce today that it has selected a site in the Guysborough Municipality near Canso and Hazel Hill, Nova Scotia over 13 other prospective locations for its new commercial launch complex, or spaceport, and expects to break ground on construction within a year.

The Liberal Budget 2017 will be presented to Canadians on March 22. For the space community it’s expected that there will be no major projects announced. This comes as no surprise as a new Space Strategy won’t be released until June, and a new Space Advisory Board has yet to be announced. Any new major funding would come in next years budget.