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           By  Chuck Black The Commercial Space blog will be taking a short break to enjoy the final two weeks of summer and go to the beach. We'll also be doing some background research on one possible American and one far more probable European Union (EU) legislative initiative directly related to news coverage and freedom of speech issues. Both have the potential to change, disrupt or even shut down almost all online news services, including this blog. The first. a US based initiative, is related to a series of potential amendments to Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act of 1996 . Section 230 has been traditionally interpreted by US courts as saying that operators of internet services (including social media outlets, such as Menlo Park CA based FaceBook , San Francisco CA based Twitter  and others) are " not to be construed as publishers " and are therefore not legally liable for the words of third parties who use their service...

           By  Brian Orlotti The small satellite industry is one of the fastest growing fields of space exploration, and two recent developments in standardization and funding will accelerate the field’s progress. First, the Geneva, Switzerland based  International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published the first international technical specification for small spacecraft, specifying the minimum requirements that all small spacecraft must comply with, regardless of their mission. This document, the " ISO/TS 20991:2018 Space systems -- Requirements for small spacecraft ," details the requirements for every stage of a small spacecraft system’s life-cycle: design, launch, deployment, operation and disposal. The ISO is a global network of thousands of experts (members of the national standards bodies of 161 nations) that works to develop international standards for various industries, ranging from food to computer networking to space exp...

           By  Chuck Black Brampton ON based MDA, the Canadian subsidiary of Westminster CO based Maxar Technologies , has come out in favor of Canadian participation in the proposed US led Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G), a space station designed to be the logical follow-on to the current International Space Station (ISS). As outlined in the August 14th, 2018 Maxar/ MDA press release, " Group President of Maxar's MDA outlines opportunities, challenges for Canada's next role in space ," MDA group president Mike Greenley discussed the topic in a speech to the 2018 Aerospace Defence and Security Expo (ADSE2018), which was held on August 9th - 10th, in Abbotsford, BC. It's a proposal heavily favored by  Canadian Space Agency (CSA) technocrats who, as outlined in the May 28th, 2018 post, " Minister Bains Promises "Canadian Space Strategy" Within Months... Again! ," consider the LOP-G program to be their last real opportunity to " ...

           By Al Calder Chris Hadfield , past astronaut and current space idol. Is he merely a musician from out of this world? Or does he have a point when, as outlined in the July 8th, 2018 Business Insider post, " Astronaut Chris Hadfield says we could have gone to Mars decades ago — here's why we haven't ," he discussed our capacity to travel to Mars.  As outlined on his Wikipedia record , Hadfield is the recipient of numerous awards and special honours. These include appointment to the Order of Ontario in 1996 and the Order of Canada in 2014, receipt of the Vanier Award in 2001, NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2002, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He is also the only Canadian to have received both a military and civilian Meritorious Service Cross . " We could send people to Mars decades ago ," Hadfield told Business Insider. " The technology that took us to the moon and back wh...

          By Henry Stewart Want an overview of the Canadian space industry and the public policy and political issues associated with it? Then check out these freely available online publications from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Paris, France based  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  (OECD). According to the  Space Economy at a Glance 2014 , a " statistical overview of the global space sector and its contributions to economic activity ," compliled by the OECD: Canada has a well-developed space industry, including about 200 private companies, in addition to research institutions and universities, some of which have some commercial activities. The ten biggest companies accounted for almost 88% of revenues and 64% of employment (Canadian Space Agency, 2013). Space manufacturing is mainly located in Ontario (more than half of the workforce) and in Quebec (19% of workforce). Some 7,993 people were employed in the space...

           By  Brian Orlotti A team of postgraduate researcher from Yale and Stanford Universities and the University of Colorado have urged the space industry to adopt a policy requiring the use of encryption on all cubesats and smallsats with onboard propulsion. "From scytales in the year 700 BC to the first password, CAPTCHAs and literally unbreakable 258-bit encryption, take a walk with us through the history of encryption," says the introduction to this infographic. To see the complete infographic, simply click on  this link . Graphic c/o Visually . As outlined in the August 9th, 2018 Space News post, " 'No encryption, no fly' rule proposed for smallsats ," the team made their presentation at the recently concluded American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Annual Smallsat Conference , which was held from August 4th - 9th, in Logan, UT. Their request comes at a time when multiple independent groups have demonstrated the vulner...

           By  Chuck Black It's worth noting that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn't offer up any new funding for the Canadian space industry during his Thursday trip through the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue PQ based facility owned by Westminster CO based Maxar Technologies and operated by its Brampton ON based MDA subsidiary. He wears a white hat so he must be here to rescue us! PM Trudeau (right) with MDA scientists at the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM) manufacturing facility in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue PQ on Thursday, August 9th, 2018. As outlined in his twitter post, " The satellites being built at @MDA_maxar in QC will help us measure the effects of climate change, monitor the oceans, and provide valuable information when natural disasters strike. It was great to learn about the Canadian tech & workers behind them before they head into space ." Photo c/o @JustinTrudeau . After all, just the day before, as per the August 8th, 2018 ...

          By Al Calder Canada has one advantage in the international space industry which very few people are talking about.  The scientific advances being developed through efforts cultivating crops designed for the closed environment of space are also directly applicable to the quite similar problem of growing marijuana, a crop which Canada is in the midst of legalizing.  As outlined in the September/Octorber 2014 issue of Lab Business article, " Mission to Mars ," Dixon is also ready to grow food on Mars, which will certainly be of interest to Elon Musk. who is hoping to relocate there over the next few decades. However, Dixon's also happy to settle for helping to grow crops in Canada's far north, an area which is also shaping up to be a lucrative business according to the article. Graphic c/o Lab Business .  Mike Dixon , the director of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF) at the Guelph ON based University of Guelph (...

           By  Brian Orlotti A private non-profit group recently concluded a high altitude research project in cooperation with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and has another joint effort planned with the National Research Council  (NRC) this fall. This work highlights the increasing role of private groups in supporting space focused scientific research in the face of decreasing government support. The Summer 2018 edition of the Project PoSSUM News which provides a quarterly overview of PoSSUM activities. To download the complete eight page newsletter, please click on this link . Image c/o Project PoSSUM .  From June 29th to July 1st 2018, two members of Project PoSSUM (polar suborbital science in the upper mesosphere), used a CT-155 ‘ Hawk ’ training aircraft of the RCAF’s 15 Wing at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to study noctilucent clouds. Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in Earth’s atmosphere, forming near an altitude of 83 km ...

           By Chuck Black The deadline to contribute position papers to the pre-budget consultations held annually by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance  (FINA) in advance of the expected release of the next Federal budget in March 2019, has passed. But it's worth noting that there are many things we can still do to support the Canadian space industry. For example, we could kick in a few bucks for the University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT). UTAT team members surround a model of their rocket. Graphic c/o UTAT . As outlined in their GoFundMe webpage under the title " Defiance: Record-breaking rocket ," as of August 6th, 2018 the team was approximately $2000 CDN short of the $8500 CDN needed in order to be able to fund and build a hybrid sounding rocket, called " Defiance. " The rocket will be used in an attempt to break the current Canadian amateur rocketry altitude record. As a side benefit, it will also help motivated and capable...

         By Henry Stewart Want to find our where there smart venture money is pooling? Then check out the latest PwC  MoneyTree report . The complete Q2 2018 PwC Money Tree report, is available online from the PwC website by simply clicking on the graphic above. Graphic c/o PwC . The quarterly report covers updates on the Canadian venture capital and high-growth startups ecosystem and is a staple of the financial community. It's compiled by Toronto ON based PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of a multinational professional services network headquartered in London, UK, and New York, NY based CB Insights . The latest report, covering the second quarter of 2018, is all about funding analytical tools and artificial intelligence applications capable of dealing with very large data-sets. As outlined in the July 26th, 2018 Betakit post, " Report: AI Drives VC Investments As Canada Hits $900 Million USD For Second Straight Quarter ," whic...