We have liftoff 🚀

🍁 MDA rebrands, sells nuclear assets, enters the S&P/TSX
 
📸 Another Canadensys Earth selfie from the Moon

📢 Canadian Space Agency releases two announcements of opportunities

🚀 NASA sets final Starliner Crew Flight Test—one step closer to another Canadian astronaut in space

💰2024 federal budget recommendations for the Canadian space industry & what was announced in 2023

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MDA rebrands, sells nuclear assets, enters the S&P/TSX

MDA had quite the week—where do we start?

Rebrand: First off, we better get our names straight—MDA Ltd officially rebranded to MDA Space.

You may recognize MDA Space from their all-time classic hits such as Canadarm1 and Canadarm2. The unreleased, autonomous Canadarm3 will be attached to the Lunar Gateway station, coming soon to a Moon near you.

Nuclear assets: Calian Group purchased assets associated with MDA Space’s nuclear services. MDA’s Nuclear team will add new capabilities and services to Calian’s existing nuclear business, while also strengthening their mutual client, Bruce Power.

Bruce Power owns the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, Ontario. Consisting of eight CANDU heavy-water reactors, it is the world’s largest fully operational nuclear generating station by total reactor count, and contributes to 30% of Ontario’s power.

S&P/TSX Compositive Index: MDA Space will join prior to markets opening on March 18. This marks a major milestone as MDA Space becomes part of a benchmark equity index that tracks the performance of Canada’s largest public companies on the TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange)

This move provides reassurance to existing investors, offers visibility to new investors, and reflects MDA’s standing within the Canadian market.

Another Canadensys Earth selfie from the Moon

See that little crescent on the top right?

That’s Earth. You, me, and everyone you’ve ever met are in this image.

Can’t see us? Look closer.

For the first time in over 50 years, the United States soft-landed a spacecraft (Odysseus) on the surface of the Moon. It was a historic mission as it marked the first successful landing of a commercial spacecraft on the Moon.

But the glory isn’t just for the U.S.—Canadian hardware was also on board.

Toronto’s Canadensys built seven cameras for the Odysseus spacecraft. Two of the cameras (ILO-X) are mounted at the top of the craft as part of a payload for the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA). ILOA’s payload aims to capture the first images of the Milky Way Galactic Center from the Moon.

Until then, we’ll have to settle on images of the lunar surface (poor us)

Two new announcements of opportunities with the Canadian Space Agency

This week the Canadian Space Agency released two announcements of opportunities related to earth observation and remote sensing.

1. NEOSSat Science Guest Observation (GO)

   The seventh opportunity of its kind, the NEOSSat Science Guest Observation opportunity provides researchers with observation time of the NEOSSat (Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite) space telescope.

   
   Launched on February 15, 2013, NEOSSAT is the world’s first space telescope dedicated to detecting and tracking asteroids, comets, satellites and space debris.
   
   

2. Joint Canadian Space Agency (CSA)- German Aerospace Center (DLR)- Spanish National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) 
   Three space agencies around the world are offering data from their Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) products to those interested in researching algorithms, methods, and applications.

   
   This includes Canada’s RADAR Constellation Mission (RCM).
   
   The RCM are three synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites that provide continuous observation & moderating of the Earth. They orbit our planet once every 96 minutes, moving at a speed of ~ 27,200 km/h.
   
   Providing the public with access to RCM data has been a focus of the CSA lately. In January, they held a webinar that detailed the current status of Canadian SAR missions, and their history and shared notable imagery to date.
   
   Here’s the one-millionth image that RCM captured on March 30, 2023, located on the tip of the Borden & Brodeur Peninusulas on Baffin Island in Nunavut.
   

   

   source: Canadian Space Agency

   
   Want more images from RCM? Natural Resources Canada has you covered. You can browse a growing catalogue of images through the Earth Observation Data Management System (EODMS).

NASA sets final Starliner Crew Flight Test—one step closer to another Canadian astronaut in space

NASA has announced a tentative date of Monday, April 22, 2024, for their final test Crew Flight Test (CFT) of Boeing’s Starliner capsule.

Canada’s Joshua Kutryk will fly aboard Starliner during the Starliner-1 mission—assuming the final test goes as planned, Kutryk could be headed to space as in early 2025.

After launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Station aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, Kutryk will spend roughly six months aboard the International Space Station where he’ll conduct various experiments and test new technologies.

The mission will be historic for not only Kutryk, but for Canada as a whole—this will be the first CSA astronaut mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, which is a partnership with the private sector that enables astronaut transportation from Earth to the ISS.

Canadian government shares 2024 federal budget release date—what impact did 2023’s budget have on Canada in space?

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that the 2024 federal budget will be presented on Tuesday, April 16.

Among the 300+ recommendations presented by the House of Commons Finance Committee in a pre-budget consultation report two weeks ago is the recommendation to create a national space council. 

To all the lobbyists who worked on this—we appreciate you. Specifically you, Space Canada (_{would love to attend your events!})

Space Canada is an organization that represents Canada’s space innovators while focusing on positioning Canada at the forefront of the global New Space Economy.

2023-24 Canadian Space Agency Budget: $534.M (+7.8% YoY)

The budget included major proposals that will shape the future of Canada in space:

🛰️ $1.1B over 14 years for CSA to continue Canada''s participation in the International Space Station until 2030 (starting '23-24)

🌕🤖 $1.2B over 13 years for CSA to develop & contribute lunar utility vehicle (starting '24-25)

🌌🤖 $150M over 5 years to CSA for the next phase of Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP) (starting '23-24)

🛰️🌕$76.M over 8 years to CSA in support of Canadian science on the Lunar Gateway station (starting '23-24)