Enduring tough times, and well-positioned for the future. That’s the state of the Canadian space sector, according to speakers at the first-ever Horizons event, though danger lurks in the “third space age.”
Sponsored by the industry association Space Canada, Horizons featured updates on the Canadian space sector from the following government agencies; The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), National Defence, Transport Canada and the Department of Finance. It was held on May 9, 2023 at the Bayview Yards conference centre in Ottawa. Here’s a rundown of what the experts had to say.
A Flat Economy
The Canadian space sector took a hit from COVID-19 and its associated supply chain issues, said David Haight, the CSA’s Director of Economic Analysis, International and Regulatory Affairs. Although this sector performed better than the general Canadian economy, revenues dropped from $5.5 billion in 2019 to $4.9 billion in 2020 and remained the same for 2021.
“The biggest drop we saw was in exports, which was down about 23%,” Haight said. Finding qualified employees has also been a challenge. “There’s been some poaching of experts and turning to foreign workers to fill vacancies,” he observed, adding that wages in the Canadian space sector have risen 9%.
The Dangerous ‘Third Space Age’
The military aspects affecting the Canadian space sector, and western space companies in general, were covered by RCAF Brigadier General (BGen) G.M. (Mike) Adamson, Commander of 3 Canadian Space Division. He began by saying the world is in the “Third Space Age.” The first Space Age was anchored in the Cold War and ended in 1990 with the fall of the Soviet Union. The second Space Age, which lacked the US/USSR competitiveness of the first, was a time of cooperation. It faltered in 2015 following Russia’s illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. The Third Space Age is our current era, with US/Russian hostility replacing cooperation and China getting into the military space mix.
But the Third Space Age isn’t just about renewed nationalistic competition in space. It is also about the rise of commercial space companies in this arena. “Nowadays the government can’t innovate as quickly as commercial operators can,” said BGen Adamson. And these companies are innovating, thanks to the launch of commercial satellite broadband networks into low Earth orbit (LEO) and the billions of investment dollars backing their efforts.
As for threats: The support of Ukraine by western commercial satellite operators have made them targets in Russia’s eyes, BGen Adamson said. Meanwhile, the tendency of hostile nations to park spacecraft by Western satellites to eavesdrop on their communications is worrying, as is China’s demonstrated ability to grab satellites and move them to other orbits.
Speaking of China, BGen Adamson said that hostile interactions between that nation and the West is “keeping below the threshold of conflict.” Both sides are poking each other in the eye, he quipped, but never going far enough to get either side angry.
The bottom line: Military space is heating up and commercial assets now in orbit are vulnerable. This is why the United States is moving away from singular geostationary satellites in favour of thousands of cheap LEOs.
Open to Business
Under the federal government’s ‘Resourceful, Resilient, Ready’ policy, Canada is committed to many Earth Observation (EO) satellite projects, said Janin Huard, CSA’s Director of Planning, Engagement and Applications. They include the High-altitude Aerosol, Water Vapour, and Clouds (HAWC) satellite scheduled for liftoff in 2028, and the WildFireSat fire-spotting satellite due to launch in 2029.
Make no mistake: When it comes to these and other domestic EO projects, “there are important commercial opportunities across Canada,” Huard told the Horizons audience. “We hope to do it all with you, Canadian industry partners.”
In a similar vein, Finance Canada’s Director General of Resource Policy Analysis Greg Reade spoke about the federal government’s new Canada Innovation Corporation (CIC). Although the CIC is aimed at helping to fund R&D by Canadian business as a whole, it could prove to be a welcome source of money for this sector.
The CIC’s initial budget is set to be $2.6 billion over four years starting in 2023-24, according to the government web site Canada.ca. Although the CIC’s senior leadership is still being finalized, “there’s funding available this year,” Reade said.
CSA’s Many Missions
Martin Bergeron, CSA’s Director of Space Exploration Development, spent his time detailing CSA’s space exploration plans for upcoming years. He began by talking about the fate of the International Space Station (ISS). It is being moved to being managed by the commercial space sector prior to deorbiting in 2030.
Bergeron then jumped to NASA’s Gateway lunar orbital station, for which Canada will be providing the Canadarm3 robotic arm. He said that various lunar mission functions will be tendered to industry, and that a small Canadian lunar rover that will search for water ice is being developed by Canadensys Aerospace Corporation and its partners.
“A second, larger robotic lunar utility rover is also being built for CSA by MDA,” said Bergeron. According to an MDA news release, “The proposed lunar rover concept would conduct expeditions on the far side of the moon near the South Pole region using a robotic arm and a sample capture system to collect samples, carrying a suite of science instruments up to 120 kg. The rover would then return to its lander and deposit the samples into a small rocket known as an ascent vehicle that will carry them to the Gateway.”
The good news: When it comes to opportunities for Canada’s space sector to take part in these and other CSA projects, “Canadian industry will be involved early,” Bergeron said.
Setting Canadian Space Launch Rules
The growth of commercial space projects is boosting the demand for commercial launch sites, and Transport Canada is doing what it can to foster this capability at home.
To this end, Transport Canada is working with other federal departments to develop the rules, safety standards, and licensing requirements for commercial space launch services here. At the same time, they are trying to do so in ways that support the development of this homegrown sector.
Fortunately, “Canada’s a small town, especially here in Ottawa,” said Patrick Juneau, Transport Canada’s Director of Safety Policy and Intelligence — Civil Aviation. “It’s really easy to pick up the phone” to discuss policy points with other departments. Still, this is new ground for the Canadian government, and there’s lots of work to be done to iron out this new regulatory environment.
Where’s the Money?
The first-ever Space Canada Horizons conference closed out with money on the agenda. Specifically, “we invest annually about 60 million a year through Requests for Proposals and Announcements of Opportunities,” said Ruth Ann Chicoine, CSA’s Director of Technology and Science Development.
Going forward, the CSA is working to encourage participation by the commercial space sector through a number of projects, she noted. These include the Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) mission, which “will demonstrate quantum key distribution (QKD) in space,” said the CSA’s website.
The Takeaway
All told, the four hours devoted to seven speakers at Space Canada Horizons gave this audience a well-rounded look at the Canadian space sector, at least from the federal government’s point of view. Given the high industry turnout and rapt attention by attendees, this is bound to become an annual event.