Tag Archives: Satellite Constellations

Everyone was smiling at MDA’s Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue facility, not only because the government had just announced an investment of $26.7 million through the Space Technology Development Program (STDP), but also because the participants we’re about to see the three RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) satellites before they get shipped for launch this fall. All told, there were 49 projects funded through the STDP from two announcements of opportunities.

At the CASI ASTRO 18 conference SpaceQ had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the state and future of Canada’s military space component with Brigadier-General Kevin G. Whale. It was an open and informative discussion.

The CASI ASTRO 18 conference provided the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Directors General (DG) an opportunity to provide an update on CSA activities and outline current and future opportunities. 

The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) data policy is a work in progress and is not yet set. That’s one of the messages that Jill Smyth of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) discussed at the CASI ASTRO 18 conference.

Recently the Aerospace Corporation Center for Space Policy and Strategy released a paper that discusses the long-standing Canada – U.S. military space relationship and how it is an ideal case study for other alliances.

It was a good news, bad news quarterly conference call for Maxar Technologies which includes Canadian subsidiary MDA.

This fall Canada will launch three identical large Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission. At the moment they are being integrated at MDA’s Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue facility on the island of Montreal.

This interview by Eva-Jane Lark with Colonel André Dupuis, who has since retired from the Department of National Defence and runs the consultancy Space Strategies Consulting, was published in Space Quarterly Magazine in March 2012.

This fall Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission, a trio of synthetic aperture radar satellites, will launch 15 years after its conception. In that time there have been government imposed delays and a budget that has grown to over $1 billion. Eric Choi wrote the following article for Space Quarterly Magazine which was published in the March 2013 Canadian edition. It is still relevant today.

The Department of National Defence budget for 2018-19 has been set at $20,377,579,955, slightly lower than the previous year.