Canadian Space Agency

Canadian Space Agency
Agence spatiale canadienne
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Agency overview
Formed December 14, 1989
Jurisdiction Government of Canada
Headquarters John H. Chapman Space Centre
Employees 575
Annual budget CAD $373.5 million (2007)
Minister responsible Tony Clement, Minister of Industry
Agency executive Steve MacLean[1], President
Website
http://www.space.gc.ca

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA or, in French, l'Agence spatiale canadienne, ASC) is the Canadian government space agency responsible for Canada's space program. It was established in March 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act and sanctioned in December 1990. The Chief Executive Officer of the agency is the President who reports to the Minister of Industry.

The headquarters of the CSA is located at John H. Chapman Space Centre in Saint-Hubert, Quebec. The agency also has offices in Ottawa, Ontario at the David Florida Laboratory (which is mainly an engineering installation) and small liaison offices in Washington, D.C.; Paris, France; Cape Canaveral, Florida; and Houston, Texas.

The agency is a relatively modest federal establishment, with only 575 employees and a rotating student population of about 100 interns or summer workers. Most of the staff is at the Chapman Centre.

Steve MacLean was named as president of the Canadian Space Agency on September 2, 2008.[2]

Contents

History

With the launch of Alouette 1 in 1962 Canada became the third country to put a man-made satellite into space. The mission was successful beyond expectations, for although it was scheduled to proceed for one year, it in fact lasted for ten. This prompted further study of the ionosphere with the international ISIS program, which in 1993 was designated an International Milestone of Electrical Engineering by IEEE. Canada has never had any domestic launch capabilities of its own. While Alouette 1 was entirely built and funded by Canada, it was launched by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from Vandenberg AFB in California.

Another Canadian first was the launch of Anik A-1 in 1972, making Canada the first country in the world to have its own domestic geostationary communication satellite network.

Mission and mandate

The coat of arms of the Canadian Space Agency granted on 25 July 1991, by the Canadian Heraldic Authority

The Canadian Space Agency Act is the Act of the Parliament of Canada which established the Canadian Space Agency. The Act received royal assent on May 10, 1990 and came into force on December 14, 1990.[3]

The Canadian Space Agency's mission statement says that the agency is committed to leading the development and application of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and humanity.

To achieve this, the CSA attempts to promote an environment where all levels of the organization:

Presidents of the Canadian Space Agency

Cooperation with other national agencies

The CSA has several formal and informal partnerships and collaborative programs or agreements with space agencies in other countries, such as NASA, ESA and JAXA, ISRO.

Since January 1, 1979 Canada has had the special status of a cooperating state with the ESA, paying for the privilege and also investing in working time and providing scientific instruments which are placed on European probes. On June 21, 2000 the accord was renewed for a fourth period, this time for 10 years. By virtue of this accord Canada takes part in ESA deliberative bodies and decision-making and in ESA's programmes and activities. Canadian firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has a provision specifically ensuring a fair industrial return to Canada. The head of the Canadian delegation to ESA is the president of the Canadian Space Agency. As of February 2009, there are currently 30 Canadians that are employed as staff members at ESA. (Distributed over various ESA sites: 20 at ESTEC; 4 at ESOC; 4 at ESA HQ; 2 at ESRIN).

The CSA visited the China National Space Administration in October 2005 and planned to reach a deal soon to put Canadian scientific instruments in two Chinese satellites. There was also speculation about China in the future perhaps wanting the Canadarm2 technology for its planned space station, but as of 22 October 2005, the CNSA has not raised the possibility.

Canadian Space Program

The Canadian Space Program is also administered by the Canadian Space Agency. Canada has contributed technology, expertise and personnel to the world space effort, especially in collaboration with NASA and ESA.

Astronaut Julie Payette is Chief Astronaut of CSA.

There have been three requirement campaigns to find astronauts for the CSA. The first, in 1983, produced Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Robert Thirsk, Kenneth Money, Bjarni Tryggvason and Steve MacLean. The second, in 1992, produced Chris Hadfield, Julie Payette, Dafydd Williams and Mike Mackay.[6]

On May 13, 2009 it was announced that in the third national requirement campaign two new astronauts had been chosen for future space flights. They are Jeremy Hansen of Ailsa Craig, Ontario and David Saint-Jacques, of Quebec City, Quebec.[7]

In addition to its astronauts, some of the most notable Canadian technological contributions to space exploration are the Canadarm on the Space Shuttle as well as the Canadarm2 and the rest of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station. The Canadarm and Canadarm2 are assisted by the Advanced Space Vision System which allows more efficient use of the robotic arms. Another example is the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, which is an extension of the Canadarm used to inspect the Space Shuttle's thermal Protection System for damage while in orbit.

With the successful launching of Radarsat 2 in December 2007 and near completion of Canada's C$1.4 billion contribution to the ISS the agency in early 2008 found itself with no major follow on projects. This fact was highlighted by Marc Garneau, Canada's first astronaut and former head of the CSA who in the fall of 2007 called upon the Canadian government to develop and institute a space policy for Canada.

Modest steps have been taken to resolve this problem. In November 2008, the Agency signed a $40 million 16-month contract with MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. of Vancouver to begin the design of the RADARSAT Constellation (3 satellite) earth observation mission. In the 2009 Federal budget, the agency was awarded funding for the preliminary design of robotic Lunar/Martian rovers. However the fact remains that the Agency is without overall direction and that the support of the government of Canada is grudging at best. As of 2009 funding remains stagnant at about C$350,000,000 a year. As of late, the CSA has been researching locations in Cape Breton Nova Scotia and Fort Churchill Manitoba for a possible launch site for the CSA. This would allow the CSA the ability to launch satellites and future spacecraft, for the first time, into orbit without the reliance of other "outside" facilities.[8]

In 2009 the CSA announced the names of two new astronauts selected for the Astronaut Corps, Jeremy Hansen, a fighter pilot with the Canadian Forces and David Saint-Jacques a doctor. Although Space Shuttle flights will be made by Bob Thirsk (a six month long duration mission aboard the ISS) and Julie Payette in 2009, there are no plans for flights by these two new astronauts or other Canadian astronauts for at least five years.

Canadians in space

Nine Canadians have participated in 13 NASA manned missions and two Soyuz ones:

Name Launch Vehicle Mission Launch date International Space Station Expedition Notes
Marc Garneau Challenger STS-41-G October 5, 1984 First Canadian in space
Roberta Bondar Discovery STS-42 January 22, 1992 First Canadian woman in space
Steven MacLean Space Shuttle Columbia STS-52 October 22, 1992
Chris Hadfield Atlantis STS-74 November 12, 1995 Only Canadian to visit Mir
Marc Garneau Endeavour STS-77 May 19, 1996 First Canadian to return to space
Robert Thirsk Columbia STS-78 June 20, 1996
Bjarni Tryggvason Discovery STS-85 August 7, 1997
Dafydd Williams Columbia STS-90 April 17, 1998
Julie Payette Discovery STS-96 May 27, 1999 First Canadian to visit International Space Station (ISS mission)
Marc Garneau Endeavour STS-97 November 30, 2000 ISS mission, Return to space (third visit)
Chris Hadfield Endeavour STS-100 April 19, 2001 ISS mission, Return to space (second visit), First spacewalk by a Canadian
Steven MacLean Atlantis STS-115 September 9, 2006 ISS mission, Return to space (second visit), Canadian Spacewalk
Dafydd Williams Endeavour STS-118 August 27, 2007 ISS mission, Return to space (second visit), Canadian Spacewalk
Robert Thirsk Soyuz-FG Soyuz TMA-15 (Союз ТМА-15) May 27, 2009 Expedition 20, Expedition 21 Return to space (second visit), First flight on a Russian launch vehicle by a Canadian, first Canadian on a permanent ISS crew
Julie Payette Endeavour STS-127 July 15, 2009 ISS mission, First Canadian woman to return to space, First time two Canadians were in space simultaneously (with Thirsk), Largest gathering (13) of humans in space, as 7 STS-127 arrivals join 6 already on ISS, Largest gathering (5) of nationalities in space, as USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Belgium have astronauts together on ISS
Guy Laliberté Soyuz Soyuz TMA-16 (Союз ТМА-16) September 30, 2009 First Canadian space tourist

Note: Two former Canadian astronauts never flew in space; Michael McKay resigned due to medical reasons and Kenneth Money resigned in 1992, eight years after his selection.

Canadian satellites

The Alouette 1 was the first satellite launched by a country other than the United States or Soviet Union.
Name Launched Retired Purpose
Alouette 1 September 29, 1962 1972 Explore the ionosphere
Alouette 2 November 29, 1965 August 1, 1975 Explore the ionosphere
ISIS-I January 30, 1969 1990 Explore the ionosphere
ISIS-II April 1, 1971 1990 Explore the ionosphere
Hermes January 17, 1976 November, 1979 Experimental communications satellite
RADARSAT-1 November 4, 1995 Still in use Commercial Earth observation satellite
MOST June 30, 2003 Still in use Space telescope
SCISAT-1 August 12, 2003 Still in use Observe the Earth's atmosphere
RADARSAT-2 December 14, 2007 Still in use Commercial Earth observation satellite
CASSIOPE Scheduled for 2011[9] CAScade, Smallsat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer

Additionally, there are some commercial satellites launched by the telecommunications company Telesat Canada. These are the 13 Anik satellites (3 of which are still in use), the 3 Nimiq satellites (all currently used by Bell TV), and a satellite called M-Sat 1 launched April 20, 1996 at 22h36 UTC.

Further, technology/research satellites have been launched by the University of Toronto, including the CanX series.

Space Agency Locations

See also

References

  1. ↑ Astronaut Steve MacLean named Space Agency chief
  2. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/02/csa-president.html
  3. ↑ Canadian Space Agency Act. Retrieved from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-23.2/text.html.
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/about/milestones.asp
  6. ↑ http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090513%2fnew_astronauts_090513
  7. ↑ http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090513%2fnew_astronauts_090513
  8. ↑ http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100328/space_cape_breton_100328/20100328?hub=TopStoriesV2
  9. ↑ http://mertensiana.phys.ucalgary.ca/projectschedule.htm

External links