Tag Archives: This Week in Space for Canada

There’s no news this week in space for Canada, at least until we absorb and assess the comments and whispered gossip coming out of last weeks Canadian Space Agency Workshop on Suborbital Platforms and Nanosatellites, but there’s lots of stuff going on elsewhere and this week we’re going to inventory some of those stories.

This week in space for Canada is all about the contrast between the generally positive business and industry reaction to the changes underway within the American space program, the silence these very same changes seem to be eliciting from within the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and about what the CSA might need to do to stay on top of the situation.

This week in space for Canada is focused on a rather interesting article by Peter Rakobowchuk of the Canadian Press that initially showed up Sunday in partial form under the title “Space Agency eyes Cape Breton for satellite launch” on the CTV news website. Since then, the story and the internet buzz have both continued to grow.

This week in space for Canada is all about developing an inventory of the commercial space focused activities occurring last week and comparing them to what’s happening, or maybe not happening, at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Last week in space for Canada was all about our federal government, it’s changing policies and newly allocated funding as outlined in both the Wednesday throne speech and the Thursday budget. This week for space in Canada is about whether these changes will help or hinder Canadian space focused activities.

This week in space for Canada is all about an American, Michael Swartwout, an Assistant Professor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at Parks College, St. Louis University who recently wrote a fascinating article on “The promise of innovation from university space systems: Are we meeting it?” for the October 12th, 2009 issue of the Space Review where he talks about university faculties launching space satellites. …

Back in September 2008, when Steve MacLean became head of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), industry and science experts expected a long-term space strategy document would be developed and released almost immediately in order to provide a long delayed “way forward” and focus Canadian activities. Unfortunately, no report has ever been released (although one is still promised). Instead we have private citizens, individual organizations and …

Last week in space for Canada was all about watching the Americans figure out what they’re going to do with their broken, bleeding and bankrupt national space program. US President Obama has spoken and now we know his intentions so this week in space for Canada is all about beginning the inventory of Canadian firms and organizations that could benefit from this change of focus …

Pierre Trudeau, addressing the Washington, D.C., Press Club in 1969 said “Living next to you [the U.S.] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt” and he was absolutely correct. In 1969. That’s why this week in space for Canada is all about watching the Americans figure …

This week in space for Canada is quiet but important and all about the boring programs available to help Canadian business making a living off our final frontier.