Canadian Space Agency

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA or, in French, l'Agence spatiale canadienne, ASC) is the Canadian government space agency responsible for Canada's space program. It was established in March 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act and sanctioned in December 1990. The Chief Executive Officer of the agency is the President who reports to the Minister of Industry.

The headquarters of the CSA is located at John H. Chapman Space Centre in Saint-Hubert, Quebec. The agency also has offices in Ottawa, Ontario at the David Florida Laboratory (which is mainly an engineering installation) and small liaison offices in Washington, D.C., Paris, France, Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Houston, Texas.

The agency is a relatively modest federal establishment, with only 575 employees and a rotating student population of about 100 interns or summer workers. Most of the staff is at the Chapman Centre.

History

With the launch of Alouette 1 in 1962 Canada became the third country to launch a man-made satellite into space. The mission was a big success; although it was only expected to last for one year, it lasted for ten. This prompted further study of the ionosphere with the international ISIS program, which in 1993 was designated an International Milestone of Electrical Engineering by IEEE.

Another Canadian first was the launch of Anik A-1 in 1972, making Canada the first country in the world to have its own domestic geostationary communication satellite network.

Mission and mandate

The Canadian Space Agency Act is the Act of the Parliament of Canada which established the Canadian Space Agency. The Act received royal assent on May 10, 1990 and came into force on December 14, 1990. See the full text. The legislated mandate of the CSA 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.

To achieve this, the CSA attempts to promote an environment where all levels of the organization:

pursue excellence collectively
advocate a client-oriented attitude
support employee-oriented practices and open communications
commit themselves to both empowerment and accountability and
pledge to cooperate and work with partners to mutual benefit

Cooperation with other national agencies

The CSA has several formal and informal partnerships and collaborative programs or agreements with space agencies in other countries, such as NASA, ESA and JAXA, and perhaps soon the CNSA.

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 which are placed on European probes. On June 21, 2000 the accord was renewed for a fourth period, this time for 10 years. 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 CSA visited the China National Space Administration in October 2005 and planned to reach a deal soon to put Canadian scientific instruments in two Chinese satellites. There was also speculation about China in the future perhaps wanting the Canadarm2 technology for its planned space station, but the CNSA has not raised the possiblity yet. 22 October 2005

Canadian Space Program

The Canadian Space Program is also administered by the Canadian Space Agency. Canada has contributed technology, expertise and personnel to the world space effort, especially in collaboration with NASA and the ESA.

In addition to its astronauts, some of the most notable Canadian technological contributions to space exploration are the Canadarm (on the Space Shuttle) and the Canadarm2 and the rest of the Mobile Servicing System (on the International Space Station). The Canadarm and Canadarm2 are assisted by the Advanced Space Vision System allowing more efficient use of the robotic arms. They also created the Orbital Boom Sensor System, which is an extension of the Canadarm used to inspect the Space Shuttle's thermal Protection System for damage while in orbit.

Canadians in Space

Eight Canadians have participated on 11 NASA manned missions to date:

Name	Shuttle	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
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 ISS
Marc Garneau	Endeavour	STS-97	November 30, 2000	ISS mission
Chris Hadfield	Endeavour	STS-100	April 19, 2001	First spacewalk by a Canadian
Steven MacLean	Atlantis	STS-115	~August 28, 2006
Dafydd Williams	Endeavour (?)	STS-118	~March 15, 2007

Note: Michael McKay resigned due to medical reasons before having a space flight.

Owing to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the two future shuttle flights have been put on hold. Two Canadian experiments were destroyed in the loss of Columbia.

Canadian satellites

Name	Launched	Retired	Purpose
Alouette 1	September 29, 1962	1972	Explore the ionosphere
Alouette 2	November 29, 1965	August 1st, 1975	Explore the ionosphere
ISIS-I	January 30, 1969	1990	Explore the ionosphere
ISIS-II	April 1st, 1971		Explore the ionosphere
Hermes	January 17, 1976	November, 1979	Experimental communications satellite
RADARSAT-1	November 4, 1995	Still in use	Commercial Earth observation satellite
MOST	June 30, 2003	Still in use	Space telescope
SCISAT-1	August 12, 2003	Still in use	Observe the Earth's atmosphere
RADARSAT-2	Scheduled for 2006		Commercial Earth observation satellite
CASSIOPE	Scheduled for 2007		CAScade, Smallsat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer

Additionally, there are some commercial satellites launched by the telecommunications company Telesat Canada. These are the 13 Anik satellites (3 of which are still in use), the 3 Nimiq satellites (all currently used by Bell ExpressVu), and a satellite called M-Sat 1 launched April 20, 1996, at 22h36 UTC.

Space Agency Locations

External links

Canadian space program | Space exploration | Space agencies | Science and technology in Canada

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