Planning for the 2009 Canadian Space Summit

The Kingston Chapter of the Canadian Space Society and the Physics Department of the Royal Military College of Canada have just announced the call for papers for the upcoming Canadian Space Summit, being held on November 20-22, 2009 in Kingston, Ontario.

This annual event is dedicated to developing a wider understanding of the diverse space exploration and development projects undertaken by Canadians and helps foster collaborative connections between the government agencies, businesses, organizations and space advocates involved.

The focus this year is on the concept of "dual use" technology which has traditionally referred to technology used for both military and civilian aims but also describes the multiplicity of terrestrial problems, research applications and collaboration opportunities that space focused solutions can assist with.

Preliminary topics expected to be covered are as follows:

1. Low Earth Orbit: including on-orbit servicing, debris removal/mitigation, space surveillance, micro-satellite constellations, nano-satellites and Arctic sovereignty.
2. Astronomy: including metrology and precision space telescope structures, space telescope detector and receiver technologies (X-ray, UV, THz), attitude control and pointing technologies, space telescope optics technologies and space astronomy science instrument concepts.
3. Planetary Exploration: including robotic exploration on Earth and solar system, technology transfer, planetary and Earth observation, planetary science instruments and discussions of terrestrial benefits.
4. Life Sciences: including medicine, tele-medicine and healthcare, personal and public safety, physiological & behavioral research, cellular mechanisms, tissue engineering and pharmaceutical research
5. Law and Policy: including space traffic management, potential legal regimes for space debris removal, international space surveillance/situational awareness, verification regimes for space arms control, applying the laws of armed conflict in space and space assets vs. space weapons
6. Space Commercialization: including regulatory and financial issues surrounding the "dual use” theme, such as utilization of industrial and regional benefits (IRB) to drive ongoing, and multiple use sales, "dual use" of military space focused technologies, and export controls for “dual use” products.
7. Education and Training: including elementary, secondary and post-secondary programs, student participation in space missions, the role of government and industry, new roles for educational institutions, and communication of space activities to the public.

On top of hosting the Space Summit and other events, members of the Canadian Space Society often provide commentary for news outlets on space related events as witnessed by this recent CBC Newsworld interview with society member Talmon Firestone.



For more information, to register, and to submit a title and abstract for a presentation, please visit www.css.ca.