Tag Archive for 'Canada'

Astronaut Selection Proceeds in U.S., Canada

Published
by
Doug
on June 20, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign Closes in One Week
CSA Press Release

The Canadian Space Agency reminds Canadians that the National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign closes on June 26, 2008, with only one week remaining for candidates to apply to be considered for the Canadian Astronaut Corps.

By May 2009, two candidates taken from this process will be selected and begin their training to represent Canada in future space exploration missions, including long-duration spaceflights on the International Space Station. Among their tasks, astronauts will help assemble and maintain the Station and conduct scientific and industrial research enhancing the quality of life on Earth.

“The National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Steve MacLean, CSA Chief Astronaut. “Anyone who is interested and who meets the minimum qualifications is strongly encouraged to apply. The CSA will conduct a thorough review to select the best candidates, and we hope to have the broadest possible pool of applicants.”

Since the Campaign launched on May 22, approximately 4,000 applications have been submitted. Approximately 20 % of all applicants to date are women.

U.S. Air Force Nominates 114 for Astronaut Program
USAF Press Release

The Air Force Astronaut Nomination Board has forwarded 114 nominations to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for consideration in the pilot and mission specialist categories. The board was held May 13 to 15 and the medical screening panel was held May 20 to 22. More than 200 noninees were considered. 

Forty-eight names were forwarded in the astronaut pilot category while 66 names were forwarded in the mission specialist category. Candidates from that pre-selection are then evaluated by NASA, with the highest-qualified individuals invited to Johnson Space Center, Houston, for interviews this fall.

Airmen selected by NASA will be detailed to the JSC astronaut office for a one-year candidacy program. They will enter the basic astronaut training program, contributing to the design, development and testing of the Ares launch and the Orion crew exploration vehicles. In addition, they will participate in planning for future human operations on the moon.

The Air Force nominees will compete with those nominated by the other services and civilian applicants. NASA selections are expected to be announced to the services in May 2009.

Canadian Scientists Celebrate Phoenix Landing, Mourn Loss of Colleague

Published
by
Doug
on May 30, 2008
in News and space station
. 0 Comments

There was great joy north of the border among scientists who have contributed to the successful Mars Phoenix mission. Yet, the celebration was mixed with sadness over the loss of a colleague who never got to see it.

U of A device to measure wind on Mars successfully lands - University of Alberta Press Release
“University of Alberta scientist Carlos Lange is thrilled that an instrument he invented, a wind sensor called the Telltale, has successfully landed on Mars. This is the first time Canadians have been involved with an interplanetary mission and Lange, a mechanical engineering professor, spent four years in preparation for this mission.”

Canadian Technology on Mars - Toronto Star
“A milestone for Canadian planetary science passed Wednesday when a highly sophisticated weather device aboard the NASA Phoenix lander successfully transmitted its first messages from Mars.”

Canadians feel loss of Mars mission scientist - Toronto Star
“Clinking glasses as they celebrated the triumphant touchdown on Mars of the Phoenix lander Sunday evening, York University professor Jim Whiteway and his team missed the one person who should have been there.

“Diane Michelangeli was the lead researcher behind the innovative Canadian-built meteorological station on the Phoenix, before she died of cancer last year – less than a month after the station was launched. Team members still feel the loss.”

MDA Sale Rejected; Company Gets Contract Renewal

Published
by
Doug
on May 11, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

The Canadian government has reaffirmed its rejection of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates plans to sell its space division to American defense contractor Alliant Technosystems (ATK).

Ottawa rejected the $1.3 billion sale last month as not being of net benefit to Canada. MDA had 30 days to convince Industry Minister Jim Prentice to reverse the decision. That period expired on Thursday.

Prentice did announce a four-year, $109-million contract between the Canadian Space Agency and MDA. However, company officials said this was merely a renewal of a long-standing contract that did nothing to provide direction to a drifting Canadian space program, the Vancouver Sun reported.

“The space file in Canada has been neglected for quite a while,” said Mag Iskander, MDA’s executive vice-president for information systems. “In real terms, government expenditures in this space have been declining. We are hoping with this new resurgence of interest by the minister and the government they will engage in a serious long-term space plan, similar to what we had in the past.

“I am not talking about handouts. I’m talking about contracts that meet the needs of Canadians,” Iskander said.

MDA Warns of Job and Technology Losses; Critics Decry Lack of Space Vision

Published
by
Doug
on May 4, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates has warned that the Canadian government’s decision to block the sale of its space division to an American defense contractor Alliant Technosystems could backfire, resulting in the loss of jobs and key technologies, the Financial Post reports.

MDA wants to sell its space division to ATK for $1.3 billion in order to focus on its fast growing real-estate information business. If the sale does not go through, company officials say they would have three options:

  • purchase an American-based company to gain access to the U.S. market, draining funds from its information business;
  • hire hundreds of American workers so it can gain access to U.S. contracts, thus sending jobs south of the border;
  • collaborate with a U.S. company, with the risk of having its technologies stolen.

Last month, Industry Minister Jim Prentice rejected the sale on the grounds that it would have no net benefit for Canada. He sided with critics who say that the sale would damage the nation’s space program, sell off taxpayer-funded technology to the United States, and possibly block Canadian access to data from the Radarsat 2 satellite.

Continue reading ‘MDA Warns of Job and Technology Losses; Critics Decry Lack of Space Vision’

Parliamentary Committee Supports Rejection of MDA Sale

Published
by
Doug
on May 2, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

A key parliamentary committee issued a report on Thursday supporting the Canadian government’s decision to reject the sale of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates’ space assets to American defense Contract Alliant Technosystems, the Globe and Mail reports.

“The report, tabled yesterday by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology and the result of hearings held last month to scrutinize the sale, comes as another blow to a deal already widely seen as on death’s door. Nonetheless, Richmond-based MDA is lobbying Ottawa for a chance to plead its case for the $1.3-billion transaction.”

The report is expected to bolster the decision by Industry Minister Jim Prentice to reject the proposed sale on the grounds that it did not provide “net benefits” to Canada. MDA wants to use profits from the $1.3 billion sale to continue expanding its rapidly-expanding information products business.

MDA Coverage Roundup

Published
by
Doug
on April 13, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

Canadian writers have spilled a lot of ink (and megabytes) over their government’s decision to block MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates’ planned sale of its space division to American defense contractor Alliant Technosystems (ATK).

Some writers said it was the right thing to do while MDA’s supporters criticized the government for excessive economic nationalism. Other writers said blocking the deal would do little to solve larger problems with a Canadian space program they believe is adrift.

Below is a sampling of reactions north of the border:

Harper’s right to hold up MDA deal
Edmonton Journal

Space Program Needed Protecting
The Record

Ottawa’s MDA veto a populist play to voters
The Globe and Mail

What’s bad for shareholders is good for national security
Calgary Herald

Lost in Space
National Post

Harper’s Avro Arrow?
National Post

Off the space race pace: Stopping the sale of MDA to the Americans won’t save our wounded aerospace program
Ottawa Sun

MDA Stock Falls Sharply as Canadian Government Rejects Sale

Published
by
admin
on April 11, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

Shares of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates fell sharply on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday after the Canadian government signaled that it would block the company’s sale of its space division to an American defense contractor.

Shares of the Richmond, BC-based company, which had been trading at a high of $47 Canadian on Wednesday, fell to $42.85 Canadian on Thursday after Industry Minister Jim Prentice indicated that the”investment is not likely to be of net benefit to Canada.” The stock recovered slight to finish the week at $43.03 Canadian.

MDA had planned to sell its space division to U.S.-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK) for $1.325 billion in order to focus on its information systems business. Stockholders overwhelmingly approved the sale last month.

However, opponents said the sale would devastate the Canadian space industry, give Americans access to taxpayer-subsidized technology, and compromise the nation’s sovereignty. MDA built the Canadarms and the Dextre robot for the space shuttle and International Space Station, both funded by the Canadian government.

Continue reading ‘MDA Stock Falls Sharply as Canadian Government Rejects Sale’

Canadian Space Agency to Recruit New Astronauts

Published
by
Doug
on March 31, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

CSA PRESS RELEASE

Longueuil, Quebec, March 31, 2008 – The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry Canada and the Minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), announced at the Agency headquarters today that the CSA will begin a national astronaut recruitment campaign at the end of May 2008, to select astronauts to join its Canadian Astronaut Corps.

“Canadians are inspired when they see our astronauts in space, and they will be proud to learn that even more Canadian astronauts are about to be recruited,” said Minister Prentice. “I am pleased to join the Canadian Space Agency to announce this new national astronaut recruitment campaign. By May 2009, two astronaut candidates will be selected and will begin their training to represent Canada in future space exploration missions.”

Continue reading ‘Canadian Space Agency to Recruit New Astronauts’

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times (Canada)

Published
by
Doug
on March 23, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

Declaring the nation to be at a crossroads in space, the Toronto Star is urging Canadian policymakers to chart a firm course for the country.

Star editors point to three worrisome signs: Canada’s active astronaut corps has dwindled down to three; its last contribution to the International Space Station, the Dextre robot, was successfully installed on the space station last week; and the builder of Dextre and Radarsat 2 is up for sale to an American defense contractor.

The paper urged Conservative Industry Jim Prentice “to weigh the merits – and demerits” of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates’ plan to sell its space division to Alliant Technosystems. Beyond that, the Star editors said policymakers need to define what precisely Canada should do in space.

“Marc Garneau, former astronaut and past head of the Canadian Space Agency (and a future Liberal candidate), says what we need is a comprehensive space strategy. ‘We are very much at a crossroads, at a time when even India, China and Brazil have got very ambitious space programs,’ says Garneau. ‘It seems everybody’s going up there while we are beginning to slip,’” the editors wrote.

Ruling on Controversial MDA Sale Delayed 30 Days

Published
by
Doug
on March 20, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

The Canadian government has announced a 30-day delay in its decision on whether to approve the controversial sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates’ space technology division to American defense contractor Alliant Technosystems.

Facing a Saturday deadline, Conservative Party Industry Minister Jim Prentice announced a month-long delay in order to conduct a more in-depth review of the sale. The Vancouver-based company has built some of Canada’s major contributions to space, including Canadarm, Radarsat 2, and the International Space Station’s new Dextre robot.

MDA wants to sell the division in order to focus on other parts of its business. Its shareholders have overwhelming approved the move. However, critics say the sale will devastate the Canadian space industry and threaten the nation’s sovereignty. One issue is whether U.S. law will limit Canada’s access to data from Radarsat 2, which the Canadian government primarily funded.

There has been a lot of coverage of this issue in the Canadian media. Below are some useful links:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
Ruling on sale of Canadarm, Radarsat to U.S. arms-maker delayed 30 days

Canada Newswire:
Access Denied: U.S. Law Will Limit Canadian Access to RADARSAT-2 Data if Sale of MDA’s Space Division Proceeds

Liberal Party of Canada:
MDA Review Must Provide Solid Answers to Sovereignty Issues and Protecting Canada’s Space Industry

New Democratic Party:
NDP MP Peggy Nash demands that minister reject the sale of MDA

National Post:
Time to ground space firm’s sale (Op-ed by Don Martin)