Chris Hadfield's Space Oddity Back on YouTube!

Earlier this year Chris Hadfield (a Canadian astronaut)  posted a wonderful rendition of David Bowie's Space Oddity to YouTube (while he was doing an extended mission aboard the ISS) — It was later removed because of a lack of permissions. Now, David Bowie has given the go ahead for it to be online once more.  As a side note, YouTube shows the views as well over 23 million!

Dextre "hand" replaces malfunctioning camera on the Canadarm2

The Canadian Space Agency demonstrated the "Destre" system or the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, by  replacing a malfunctioning camera on the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Dextre,  is a two armed  telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station.   One of it's main functions is to replace some activities otherwise requiring spacewalks.

In a thrilling demonstration of space robotics, today the Dextre "hand" replaced a malfunctioning camera on the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm. And the Canadian Space Agency gleefully tweeted every step of the way

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-05-space-robot-selfie-funny-livetweet.html#jCp

 

Check the Phys.org article HERE 

or the Wiki HERE

Queen of Canada praises 1st Canadian commander of the International Space Station

On March 13, 2013, Queen Elizabeth wrote: "I am pleased to transmit my personal best wishes, and those of all Canadians, to Colonel Christopher Hadfield as he takes command of the International Space Station on Wednesday. Our thoughts and best wishes are with him and the entire crew, as are our prayers for an eventual safe return to family, friends and fellow Canadians."

ELIZABETH R.

The gallant Colonel responded: 

"In 2013, the 50th year of Canada in space since the launch of our first satellite Alouette, this Canadian is now asked to command the world's spaceship. It's a first for our country, but is really just the culmination of a lot of other firsts. I stand on the shoulders of so many that have made this possible, and now take my turn to try and add to that solid foundation for the Canadians that follow.

"It is vital that tomorrow's generations have the confidence, tools and education, as well as the vision and drive, to continue our exploration and understanding of our place in the world, and our World's place in the rest of the universe.

"It is a tremendous honour to assume command of the ISS. I will do my best to acquit myself well, accomplish the utmost as a crew for all the International Partners, and fully live and share the experience on behalf of so many around our world."

Canada's Sci-Sat marks 5 years

Longueuil, August 12, 2008 — Operating well beyond its planned lifetime of two years, Canada’s SCISAT

celebrates its fifth birthday today in service to science and Canada. Since its launch in 2003, SCISAT has provided high-precision information on the condition of the ozone layer and atmospheric changes.

It is the only satellite capable of 3D surveillance of the gases regulated by the Montreal Protocol, which is of great importance to decision-makers.

Countdown to Phoenix landing with Canadian weather station

The Maple Leaf Alights on Mars - Phoenix Lander on the Red Planet

Sunday, May 25, 2008 The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is hosting a media gathering at its space base in Saint Hubert, Quebec to celebrate the arrival of the Phoenix Lander on Mars. En Francais

The party in St Hubert starts at 7:30 pm EDT with a presentation and talk by Steve MacLean, CSA Chief Astronaut. Thanks to the live feed from Mission Control at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Arizona, participants in the CSA event will join millions worldwide watching the landing of this tough little scrapper of a lander.

Once grounded. Phoenix will deploy a Canadian weather station to record the daily weather of the Martian northern plains; its temperature, wind and barometric pressure and more .

Following the landing event, St Hubert attendees will view Mars from CSA's observatory. Information on the Phoenix Mission is available on the CSA Web site at www.space.gc.ca. Image courtesy University of the West of England

Don't Sell Off This Satellite!

Why Canada must hang onto Radarsat-2.
Read testimony given March 5th by University of British Columbia Professor Michael Byers to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry Science and Technology on the proposed sale of Canadian aerospace firm MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., which includes operations in Richmond, B.C.

Byers, a poli-sci professor, holds the Canada Research Chair in global politics and international law and leads a project on the Northwest Passage for ArcticNet, a federally-funded consortium of scientists from 28 Canadian universities and five government departments.

Excerpt from testimony:
"Once Radarsat-2 is sold to Alliant Techsystems, the United States will likely replace Canada as the country with licensing authority over it. I have sought to confirm this with several officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, including in the minister's office. All of them claim not to know what will happen to the license."

If the United States becomes the licensing authority, Ottawa's ability to control what the satellite is used for -- and to commandeer the equipment in emergencies -- might be lost. And even if Canada were to retain some sort of notional control, one can well imagine that control breaking down in certain circumstances when the company in question is owned and located in the United States."

Suppose, for instance, that Canada wanted priority access for sovereignty assertion purposes just as a major war involving the United States was breaking out in the Middle East."

One can even imagine the U.S. government using Radarsat-2 in ways that directly contradict Canada's interests. Suppose that the United States sends a ship into the Northwest Passage without Canada's consent. Or that it attacks a foreign country in the absence of UN authorization or a truly imminent threat -- and in direct contradiction of the Canadian government's stated position."

Read his complete testimony

Image courtesy Canada Space Agency

Astronauts Will Assemble Robot in Space

From Wired: Astronauts on the next Endeavour launch will be doing something that smacks of science fiction. They will be assembling a giant robot in space! On their 16 day mission, shuttle astronauts will spend 3 out of 5 space walks assembling Canadian Space Agency's Dextre - short for dexterous and pronounced like Dexter. Dextre is a two-armed space station robot with 11-foot arms, a shoulder span of nearly 8 feet and a height of 12 feet and weighing in at 3,400-pounds. Equipped with a tool holster, Dextre is designed to assist spacewalking astronauts and, ultimately, to take over some of their dangerous outdoor work. Dextre can pivot at the waist, and has seven joints per arm. Its hands, or grippers, have built-in socket wrenches, cameras and lights. Only one arm is designed to move at a time to keep the robot stable and avoid a two-arm collision.

Canada's east coast space base may land ISS contract

PlanetSpace, a Canada/US hybrid company hoping to launch rockets into space from Cape Breton, will find out early next month if it has landed a contract to launch cargo and equipment to the International Space Station.

NASA will announce Feb. 8 the successful bidder for the $174.7-million contract. PlanetSpace, an American-Canadian aeronautics company, is working to launch a demonstration cargo spacecraft named the Silver Dart to low-earth orbit from Cape Breton by late next year.

There are at least four other competitors for the contract to act as a transporter to and from the space station. PlanetSpace is looking at two unnamed sites in Cape Breton to build a spaceport. One is believed to be an area near Alder Point while the other is located near Louisbourg.

The Nova Scotia government is willing to give the company Crown land to develop the launch site.

Nova Scotia Business Inc. is in talks with PlanetSpace but the provincial agency says it’s not in a position to comment until a deal is finalized.

Graphic: PlanetSpace

Crash of Canada's Space Biz

British Columbia's outstanding newsrag The Tyee, reports that BC's top space contractor, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd, is selling out to Alliant Techsystems Inc. of Minneapolis for $1.3 billion. The announcement came days after the resignation of the head of Canadian Space Agency, Laurier Boisvert. Coincidence? Hah!


The deal puts control of Canada's Radarsat-2 largely into US hands, to the misgivings of many, not to leave out constituting a major braindrain from Canadian space industry according to the article.

-CSA image

Canada sending up new surveillance satellite to spy on inhabitants of North Pole

The Global SpyState is moving apace. The Canadian Space Agency has announced its new surveillance satellite Radarsat-2, set to begin "safeguarding Canada's sovereignty" over its Arctic realms.

Jim Prentice, Canada's Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency said that RADARSAT-2 "will provide improved surveillance and monitoring capabilities that will provide critical data for the active management of natural resources and monitoring of the environment. .. In the event of a disaster, RADARSAT-2 will be an indispensable tool to provide rescue and humanitarian aid to those most in need".

All well and good, but as is well known, Terra's collapsing Arctic ice is opening up industrial access to hitherto unexploited seafloors where riches unknown await--at least Big Industry hopes so. But inconveniently for the exploiter wannabes, amid the ice are the islands and Innuit people of the Nunavut Territory of arctic Canada, 30,000 strong, whose two million square kilometer expanse extends from north of Hudson's Bay to the North Pole. Established in 1999, Nunavut is Canada's newest province. Check out their arctic lights link

With Radarsat-2 however, surveillance of the activity of everyone in Nunavut, from tiny isolated villages to the streets of Iqaluit, the capital, may be carried out from afar, quite as easily as a downtown street in Toronto or Brisbane; bringing the Innuit, like it or not, into the global spystate, from which, one assumes , it'll keep and eye on the non-corpatriotic among the Innuit.

Set to launch December 8, 2007 the from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Radarsat-2 is one of those "unique public-private sector partnerships" ; i.e. another government/industry hybrid where the taxpayers foot the bill and the shareholders get the profit.