Canadian Space Agency
The Canadian Space Agency is the national space agency of Canada, established in 1990 by the Canadian Space Agency Act. The agency reports to the federal Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development.
The current president is Sylvain Laporte, who took the position March 9, 2015. The CSA's headquarters are located at the John H. Chapman Space Centre in Longueuil, Quebec. The agency also has offices in Ottawa, Ontario and small liaison offices in Houston; Washington, D.C.; and Paris.
History
The origins of the Canadian upper atmosphere and space program can be traced back to the end of the Second World War.Between 1945 and 1960, Canada undertook a number of small launcher and satellite projects under the aegis of defence research, including the development of the Black Brant rocket as well as series of advanced studies examining both orbital rendezvous and re-entry. In 1957, scientists and engineers at the Canadian Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment under the leadership of John H. Chapman embarked on a project initially known simply as S-27 or the Topside Sounder Project. This work would soon lead to the development of Canada's first satellite known as Alouette 1.
With the launch of Alouette 1 in September 1962, Canada became the third country to put an artificial satellite into space. At the time, Canada only possessed upper atmospheric launch capabilities, therefore, Alouette 1 was sent aloft by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California. The technical excellence of the satellite, which lasted for ten years instead of the expected one, prompted the further study of the ionosphere with the joint Canadian-designed, U.S.-launched ISIS satellite program. This undertaking was designated an International Milestone of Electrical Engineering by IEEE in 1993. The launch of Anik A-1 in 1972 made Canada the first country in the world to establish its own domestic geostationary communication satellite network.
These and other space-related activities in the 1980s compelled the Canadian government to promulgate the Canadian Space Agency Act, which established the Canadian Space Agency. The Act received royal assent on May 10, 1990, and came into force on December 14, 1990.
The mandate of the Canadian Space Agency is to promote the peaceful use and development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians. 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.
In 1999 the CSA was moved from project-based to "A-base" funding and given a fixed annual budget of $300 million. The actual budget varies from year to year due to additional earmarks and special projects. In 2009, Dr. Nicole Buckley was appointed Chief Scientist of Life Science.
Presidents
- 1989 – May 4, 1992—Larkin Kerwin
- May 4, 1992 – July 15, 1994—Roland Doré
- November 21, 1994 – 2001—William MacDonald Evans
- November 22, 2001 – November 28, 2005—Marc Garneau
- April 12, 2007 – December 31, 2007—Larry J. Boisvert
- January 1, 2008 - September 2, 2008—Guy Bujold
- September 2, 2008 – February 1, 2013—Steven MacLean
- February 2, 2013 – August 5, 2013—Gilles Leclerc
- August 6, 2013 – November 3, 2014—Walter Natynczyk
- November 3, 2014 - March 9, 2015—Luc Brûlé, Interim
- since March 9, 2015—Sylvain Laporte
Cooperation with the European Space Agency
Canada's collaboration with Europe in space activities predated both the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. From 1968, Canada held observer status in the European Space Conference, a ministerial-level organization set up to determine future European space activities, and it continued in this limited role after ESA was created in 1975. 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 that are placed on ESA probes. Canada is allowed to participate in optional programs; it also has to contribute to the General Budget but not as much as associate membership entail. This status was unique at the time and remains so today.
On 15 December 2010 the accord was renewed for a further 10 years, until 2020. 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..
Canadian space program
The Canadian space program is administered by the Canadian Space Agency. Canada has contributed technology, expertise and personnel to the world space effort, especially in collaboration with ESA and NASA. In addition to its astronauts and satellites, some of the most notable Canadian technological contributions to space exploration include the Canadarm on the Space Shuttle and Canadarm2 on the International Space Station.Canada's contribution to the International Space Station is the $1.3 billion Mobile Servicing System. This consists of Canadarm2, Dextre, mobile base system and multiple robotics workstations that together make up the Mobile Servicing System on the ISS. The Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre all employ the Advanced Space Vision System, which allows more efficient use of the robotic arms. Another Canadian technology of note is the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, which was an extension for the original Canadarm used to inspect the Space Shuttle's thermal protection system for damage while in orbit. Before the Space Shuttle's retirement, the boom was modified for use with Canadarm2; STS-134 left it for use on the ISS.
Canadian astronauts
There have been four recruiting campaigns for astronauts for the CSA. The first, in 1983, led to the selection of Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Robert Thirsk, Ken Money, Bjarni Tryggvason and Steve MacLean. The second, in 1992, selected Chris Hadfield, Julie Payette, Dafydd Williams and Michael McKay. On May 13, 2009, it was announced after the completion of a third selection process that two new astronauts, Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques, had been chosen. The latest recruitment campaign was launched in 2016, attracting 3,772 applicants for 2 candidates. In 2017, Joshua Kutryk and Jennifer Sidey were chosen.Nine Canadians have participated in 17 manned missions in total: 14 NASA Space Shuttle missions and 3 Roscosmos Soyuz missions. Two former Canadian astronauts never flew in space: Michael McKay resigned due to medical reasons and Ken Money resigned in 1992, eight years after his selection.
| Name | Launch Vehicle | Mission | Launch date | 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 | 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 the International Space Station |
| Marc Garneau | Endeavour | STS-97 | November 30, 2000 | ISS mission. Return to space |
| Chris Hadfield | Endeavour | STS-100 | April 19, 2001 | ISS mission. Return to space. First spacewalk by a Canadian |
| Steven MacLean | Atlantis | STS-115 | September 9, 2006 | ISS mission. Return to space ; spacewalk |
| Dafydd Williams | Endeavour | STS-118 | August 27, 2007 | ISS mission. Return to space ; spacewalk |
| Robert Thirsk | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz TMA-15 | May 27, 2009 | ISS Expedition 20 and Expedition 21. Return to space. First flight on a Russian launch vehicle by a Canadian. First Canadian on a permanent ISS crew. First time two Canadians were in space simultaneously |
| 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. Largest gathering of humans in space, as seven STS-127 arrivals join 6 already on ISS. Largest gathering of nationalities in space, as USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Belgium have astronauts together on ISS. Last Canadian to fly on a US Space Shuttle. |
| Chris Hadfield | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz TMA-07M | December 19, 2012 | ISS Expedition 34 and Expedition 35. Return to space. First Canadian commander of a spacecraft, first Canadian Commander of a permanent ISS crew. |
| David Saint-Jacques | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz MS-11 | December 20, 2018 | ISS Expedition 58 and Expedition 59. |
On December 19, 2012, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. This mission marked the completion of NASA's compensation to Canada for its contribution to the Shuttle and International Space Station programs, meaning that there were no confirmed remaining space flight opportunities for Canadian astronauts. In June 2015, the Canadian government announced a renewed commitment to the International Space Station, securing flights for both of Canada's remaining active astronauts. In May 2016, the CSA announced that David Saint-Jacques would fly to the International Space Station aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz rocket in November 2018 for 6 months, as part of the Expedition 58/59 crew.
Canadian satellites
| Name | Launched | Retired | Purpose |
| Alouette 1 | September 29, 1962 | 1972 | Ionosphere research |
| Alouette 2 | November 29, 1965 | August 1, 1975 | Ionosphere research |
| ISIS 1 | January 30, 1969 | 1990 | Ionosphere research |
| ISIS 2 | April 1, 1971 | 1990 | Ionosphere research |
| Hermes | January 17, 1976 | November, 1979 | Experimental communications satellite |
| RADARSAT-1 | November 4, 1995 | March 29, 2013 | Commercial Earth observation satellite |
| MOST | June 30, 2003 | March, 2019 | Space telescope |
| SCISAT-1 | August 12, 2003 | In service | Earth observation satellite |
| RADARSAT-2 | December 14, 2007 | In service | Commercial Earth observation satellite |
| NEOSSat | February 25, 2013 | In service | Monitoring of near-Earth objects |
| Sapphire | February 25, 2013 | In service | Military space surveillance |
| BRITE | February 25, 2013 | In service | Space telescope |
| CASSIOPE | September 29, 2013 | In service | Ionosphere research, experimental telecommunications |
| M3MSat | June 22, 2016 | In service | Communications satellite |
| RADARSAT Constellation | June 12, 2019 | In service | Commercial Earth observation satellite |
Additionally, there are commercial satellites launched by the telecommunications company Telesat, a former Crown corporation that was privatized in 1998. These are the Anik satellites, the Nimiq satellites, and MSAT-1. Further, technology and research satellites have been developed by UTIAS-SFL, including the CanX program, ExactView-9, and GHGSat-D.
International projects
The CSA contributes to many international projects, including satellites, rovers, and space telescopes. The CSA has contributed components to ESA, NASA, ISRO, JAXA, and SNSB projects in the past. Currently, Canada is contributing the Fine Guidance Sensor to NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.| Name | Country | Primary Agency | Launch Date | Canadian contribution | Notes |
| UARS | USA | NASA | 1991 | Wind Imaging Interferometer | PI: Gordon G. Shepherd, York; CAL |
| Interbol | Russia | RSA | 1996 | Ultraviolet Auroral Imager instrument | PI: L.L. Cogger, U Calgary; CAL |
| Nozomi | Japan | ISAS | 1998 | Thermal Plasma Analyzer instrument | PI: Andrew Yau, U Calgary; CAL/COM DEV; Canada's first interplanetary mission |
| FUSE | USA | NASA | 1999 | Fine Error Sensor | COM DEV |
| Terra | USA | NASA | 1999 | MOPITT | PI: Jim Drummond; COM DEV |
| Odin | Sweden | SNSA | 2001 | OSIRIS | PI: Doug Degenstein, University of Saskatchewan; Routes |
| Envisat | Europe | ESA | 2002 | ESA collaboration | |
| CloudSat | USA | NASA | 2006 | Radar components | COM DEV |
| THEMIS | USA | NASA | 2007 | Automated ground observatories | |
| Phoenix | USA | NASA | 2007 | Meteorological station | First Canadian component on Mars; confirmed snow on Mars |
| Herschel | Europe | ESA | 2009 | HIFI Local Oscillator Source Unit | COM DEV |
| Planck | Europe | ESA | 2009 | ESA collaboration | PI: J. Richard Bond, University of Toronto and Douglas Scott, University of British Columbia |
| Proba-2 | Europe | ESA | 2009 | Fiber Sensor Demonstrator | MPB Communications Inc. |
| SMOS | Europe | ESA | 2009 | ESA collaboration | |
| Curiosity | USA | NASA | 2011 | APXS instrument | |
| Swarm | Europe | ESA | 2013 | Electric Field Instrument | COM DEV |
| Astrosat | India | ISRO | 2015 | Precision detectors for the twin UV and visible imaging telescopes | PI: John Hutchings |
| Astro-H | Japan | JAXA | 2016 | Canadian Astro-H Metrology System | Contact lost March 26, 2016 |
| OSIRIS-REx | USA | NASA | 2016 | OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter | First Canadian component on a sample return mission |
| JWST | USA | NASA | 2021 | Fine Guidance Sensor/Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph | PI: René Doyon, Université de Montréal |
| SWOT | USA | NASA | 2021 | Extended interaction klystrons for the radar. | Communications & Power Industries Canada Inc. |
Additionally, Canadian universities and aerospace contractors, including the University of Calgary, UTIAS-SFL, COM DEV, MDA, Magellan Aerospace, Telesat and others, have provided components to various international space agencies.
Facilities
- John H. Chapman Space Centre – Longueuil, Quebec
- David Florida Laboratory – Ottawa, Ontario
- Canadian Space Agency Building – Innovation Place Research Park – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Canada
- Churchill Rocket Research Range / SpacePort Canada, Manitoba
- Cape Canaveral, Florida
- Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
- Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia
- Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
- Dombarovsky Air Base, Russia
- Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
Future programs
A modest step has been taken to resolve this problem. In November 2008, the Agency signed a $40 million 16-month contract with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates of Vancouver to begin the design of the RADARSAT Constellation earth observation mission. In August 2010 further funding was awarded for detailed design work scheduled for completion by 2012. Launch of the three satellites is scheduled for NET March 2019. Also in the 2009 Federal budget, the agency was awarded funding for the preliminary design of robotic Lunar/Martian rovers.
On February 28, 2019, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada's commitment to the Lunar Gateway, an international NASA-led project to put a small space station in lunar orbit. The announcement made Canada the first international partner in the Lunar Gateway project. As part of the announcement, Canada has committed to spending $2.05 billion over 24 years to develop the next generation Canadarm 3. This marks Canada's largest ever single financial commitment to a single project, surpassing the $1.7 billion spent on projects for the International Space Station.
A number of initiatives are without funding. The CSA is the lead agency for the Polar Communication and Weather mission, which involves the proposed launch of two satellites in polar orbit to provide Canadian authorities with improved weather information and communications capabilities in the high arctic. Launch of the two satellites was proposed to take place in 2016, but funding could not be obtained and the program was cancelled.
Rockets
The Canadian Space Agency has no indigenous launch system capability beyond upper atmospheric sounding rockets. Canada relies on other countries, such as the U.S., India and Russia, to launch its spacecraft into orbit, but both the Defence Department and the space agency are looking at the option of constructing a Canadian-made launcher.The CSA announced in 2011 it was researching locations in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, or the potential reopening of the Churchill Rocket Research Range in Manitoba for a micro satellite launch site to end its reliance on foreign launch providers. However, Canadian politicians seldom change funding without having at least some idea of the expected economic, social and national defense benefits that could reasonably accrue to their constituents from the program. Another possible location, CFB Suffield, remains an option. According to Canadian Space Agency officials, it would take 10 to 12 years for a full-scale project to design and build a small satellite launcher. There has been no funding for these activities announced.
Although a new launch facility at Canso, Nova Scotia, is in progress, its intended use is for commercial launches of the Ukrainian Cyclone-4M rocket. The facility is a project of the Maritime Launch Services company. Any CSA involvement has not been announced.