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           By Henry Stewart NASA Administrator  Jim Bridenstine has announced that nine US based companies are now eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through a new  Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, a series of fixed price procurement contracts NASA will begin issuing in 2019 which are intended to facilitate the planned US return to the Moon. The new contracts will have more than a passing resemblance to the very successful Commercial Orbital Transportation Services  (COTS) fixed priced contracts, which came out of a NASA program to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) by private companies. Hawthorne CA based SpaceX used COTS and its follow-on programs to grow into the low-cost rocket launching powerhouse it is today. As outlined in the November 29th, 2018 NASA press release, " NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery...

           By Al Calder Last week's announcement that the Canadian government planned to spend a larger lump sum of Federal funding to prop up traditional Canadian media outlets than it annually gives to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), seems more than a little disconcerting. Perhaps the Justin Trudeau Liberals simply believe that it is more important who you hear the news from than it is to get the story right, create new jobs in media and aerospace, or even " go boldly where no one has gone before! "  Perhaps those other concerns are just different line items in the next Federal budget. Or maybe not. Graphic c/o AZ Quotes . Anyway, and as outlined in the November 21st, 2018 National Post article, " $600M in federal funding for media 'a turning point in the plight of newspapers in Canada, " the largest recipients of government funding under the new program will be the struggling, legacy print media industry. The article quoted Paul Godfrey, the CEO o...

           By  Brian Orlotti NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft has landed on Mars after a six-month, 482 million-kilometre journey. The mission includes a small Canadian component. InSight is a two-year mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) whose goal is to study the interior of Mars. As outlined in the November 26th, 2018 CTV News post " Mars touchdown: NASA spacecraft survives supersonic plunge ," the spacecraft spent six minutes descending through the Martian atmosphere, using its parachute and engines to slow down before landing. A pair of cubesats trailing InSight since their May liftoff provided near real-time updates of the spacecraft's descent. One satellite also sent back a quick photo from Mars's surface. InSight touched down in Elysium Planitia, a plain hear the Martian equator chosen for its flatness and minimal landing risk. The mission consists of a ...

           By  Chuck Black The #DontLetGoCanada coalition, smarting over the recent failure of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to publicly convince Federal Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains to announce either funding or support for the " 3rd generation Canadarm, " has brought several new domestic partners to the forefront of its campaign while moving perhaps its largest (and most divisive) corporate supporter into the background. Two full page ads, the first from " MDA, A Maxar Company " and the second from the #DontLetGoCanada coalition, which were included in the November 26th, 2018 Hill Times. Both mention the need for a " fully funded space strategy. " It's difficult to discuss the #DontLetGo Coalition without at least noting Westminster, CO based Maxar Technologies , which expects its Brampton ON based MDA Space Missions subsidiary to receive the lion's share of any new government funding allocated in this area. As outlined in the ...

           By  Chuck Black Anyone who wants to understand the future of Canada's space industry as it moves away from being a single issue, science focused monolith almost completely dependent on Canadian Space Agency (CSA) largesse ( "Canadarm funding, " anyone?) towards a more distributed business environment focused around multiple possible private and public sector customers and various commercial considerations, might want to take a look at the Federal  Fall Economic Statement (FES) for 2018. Finance Minister Morneau receives applause after delivering the fall economic update in the House of Commons, on Wednesday. Photo c/o Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press . The annual Federal government FES, generally considered to be a mid-term progress report on the spring Federal budget, was released by Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on November 22nd, 2018. As outlined in the November 22nd, 2018 CBC News post, " The economy is running hot. So why...

           By Henry Stewart Short weeks after being called out publicly in this blog regarding the failure to find itself a permanent home after a seven year search, the charity once known as the Canadian Air and Space Museum  (CASM) has relocated to the Stayner, ON based Edenvale Aerodrome Airport , some 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto. Try to ignore the typo above and on the website. According to the Edenvale Aerodrome Airport website, it's " set amongst the scenic landscape of Clearview Township, nestled between the picturesque hills of The Blue Mountains and the pristine shores of Wasaga Beach, Edenvale Aerodrome is a convenient 90 min drive from the GTA ." The airport has three runways and is currently the home of the  Edenvale Classic Aircraft Foundation , which has organized the annual " Gathering ( not "Ghatering") of the Classics"  auto and air show for over 25 years. Image c/o Edenvale Aerodrone . It's also chang...

           By  Brian Orlotti New York NY based Zero G Kitchen LLC (ZGK) has unveiled its design for a space oven. The oven is designed to freshly prepare small basic foods such as rolls, cookies, patties and pockets for long duration space travel. The appliance is the first of a planned ‘ Kitchen in Space ,’ an open platform for food development in space and zero-gravity environments. As outlined in the November 15th, 2018 ZGK press release, " Zero G Kitchen Prepares to Launch its First Appliance to Space ," the space oven will be built in partnership with Houston TX based NanoRacks , a private firm which manages payloads and safety processes for the International Space Station (ISS). The ‘ Kitchen in Space ’ ecosystem will also see space-adapted versions of other household appliances, including a refrigerator, a blender, a slow cooker and more. ZGK will work with food companies, educators, researchers, appliance engineers and aerospace organizations...

           By  Chuck Black Someone should tell  Howard Lance , the CEO of Westminster CO based Earth imaging and satellite data focused Maxar Technologies , about political optics. As outlined in the November 19th, 2018 Financial Post article, " Meet the New York investor who's making all the right calls in shorting Canadian stocks ," Maxar isn't just being judged because its leaving Canada. According to the article, in August 2018, New York NY based short seller  Spruce Point Capital  released a report " raising questions about some of its (Maxar's) accounting practices and warning that the company’s shares could lose more than half their value ." Two weeks ago, Maxar reported a $432Mln CDN net loss for the third quarter, " mainly due to impairment losses and inventory obsolescence. Its shares, which had reached a high of $72.68 CDN in July and were at $56.80 CDN " when Spruce Point released its report, " plunged more than 44% to $...

           By Henry Stewart It wasn't exactly what people were expecting the day after NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine visited Ottawa to ask for a Canadian contribution to the NASA Lunar Gateway . But the November 15th, 2018 announcement that the Federal government, along with several other " strategic partners, " had contributed $52Mln CDN  in total to Montreal PQ based Northstar Earth & Space for the development of " a global environment information platform which will transform humanity's ability to manage our impact on Earth and its natural resources ," was certainly a favorable indicator for at least one Canadian based space company. Innovation Minister Bains announcing that the Federal government would be contributing $13Mln CDN to the latest $52Mln CDN funding plan for Northstar Earth and Space on November 15th, 2018. As outlined in the November 14th, 2018 Government of Canada press release " Minister Bains to visit Montréal t...

           By  Chuck Black It may not last. But at least for now, Federal Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has refused to respond to NASA Administer Jim Bridenstine 's request for Canada to fund a multi-billion dollar 3rd generation Canadarm contribution to the proposed NASA Lunar Gateway  (also known as the  Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway or LOP-G), the next generation orbital outpost and staging platform NASA expects to build sometime in the 2020's. AIAC president and CEO Quick (left) with NASA administrator Bridenstine (centre) and innovation minister Bains at the Canadian Aerospace Summit , which was held in Ottawa ON from November 12th - 14th. According to Bains, " we obviously can't replicate the Silicon Valley model here ," but the Canadian focus on basic research and the funding for a variety of smaller, space focused projects is the best way for Canada to develop an ecosystem of innovation. According to Bridenstine,...

           By  Brian Orlotti Huntington CA and New Zealand based Rocket Lab has launched an Electron rocket from its private spaceport in New Zealand, successfully placing seven spacecraft in orbit for its first commercial launch. With this latest success, the company is solidifying its lead in the burgeoning small rocket industry. The launch, which Rocket Lab has dubbed the ‘ It's Business Time ’ mission, saw six satellites deployed for San Francisco CA based Spire Global , Irvine CA based Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems , Beverley Australia based Fleet Space Technologies and the Irvine CA based Irvine CubeSat STEM program , a collaboration between six high schools in Irvine CA to assemble, test and launch a CubeSat into low Earth orbit. Also launched was a spacecraft built by München, Germany based HPS GmbH to demonstrate space debris removal technology according to the November 11th, 2018 CNBC post, " Space unicorn Rocket Lab reaches orbit agai...

          By Samuel Looper Wildfires caught the nation’s attention in 2016 with the Fort McMurray fires , which caused over 80,000 evacuations and nearly $10Bln CDN in before finally burning itself out fifteen months later. A graphic representation of Canadian forest fires in the last 35 years. As outlined in the Sep 1st, 2017 CBNC News post, " Devastating Fort McMurray wildfire declared out 15 months later ,"the Fort McMurray fires started on May 1st, 2016, destroyed more than 2,400 buildings in the Fort McMurray area and eventually spilled over into Saskatchewan before being deemed officially extinguished. According to the January 27th, 2017 Canadian Press post, " Costs of Alberta wildfire reach $9.5 billion: Study ," an assessment of the total financial impact of the Fort McMurray fires, including the direct and indirect costs of the blaze are " almost $10Bln CDN ." Map c/o NRCan . But the Fort McMurray fires weren't unique. Canadian forest fires an...