Weather Sats, CSA Contracts, Isle of Mann, New Magellan Facility & John MacDonald

Here's a short list of five items currently being tracked in the Commercial Space blog.

The NPOESS NPP satellite.

• The Quebec City office of international Swiss/ Swedish based ABB Group is justifiably proud of their contribution to the NASA National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), which rocketed into orbit on October 28th, 2011 aboard a Delta 2 launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. The ABB contribution is an interferometer component of the larger Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), a fourier transform spectrometer, which will collect data on more than 30 different climate variables including surface temperatures, global ice cover, atmospheric ozone levels and vegetative productivity. The system was originally intended to serve as a test bed for technologies expected to be used aboard future weather satellites such as the NOAA/ NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and the US Defense Department's Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS). However, the October 28th, 2011 Popular Mechanics article "NASA Launches NPP Polar Orbiter - But are Future Studies in in Doubt" suggests that, with NASA’s current polar orbiters near the end of their operational lifetimes, the experimental NPP satellite could soon end up in an operational role "providing data critical to both short-term weather forecasting and long-term climate science."

• Speaking of contracts, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has just awarded six small contracts to four organizations for concept studies in areas "related to future space exploration ventures" according to the October 27th, 2011 CSA press release "Canadian Space Agency Invests in Exploration Ideas." The $250,000 CDN contracts were snagged by Macdonald Dettwiler (one, called the "Clear Sky Project," focused on orbital debris clearance and a second for on-orbit automated servicing to demonstrate "critical technologies and techniques required to capture a satellite"), Com Dev International (one contract to demonstrate the techniques for orbital debris elimination and a second for a Canadian-led space telescope smaller than the Hubble Space Telescope, but with wider panoramic views and comparable sharpness), ABB Canada (for a compact fourier transform spectrometer, which seems to be an ABB area of expertise) and the University of Alberta (for a radiation detection system pitched as suitable for use aboard the International Space Station and future Moon and Mars missions). There is very little new here (for example, the MDA contracts seem direct progressions of skill-sets developed using the CanadArm II to dock unmanned modules aboard the ISS, which are in practical use now and certainly developed far beyond the need for a "concept study") but it's nice to see that the CSA doesn't want to be completely left behind as Canadian space system companies begin to roll-out new projects.

• Speaking of new products, the October 26th, 2011 University of Mississippi School of Law hosted Res Communis blog article "First Isle of Man Satellite Launched" reports that the first satellite to use an Isle of Man licensed orbital filing was the ViaSat-1, launched October 19th, 2011 and considered the the world’s highest capacity broadband satellite. Partners in the project include US based Space Systems Loral, Canadian based telecom giant Telsat, and French based satellite provider Eutelsat. “ViaSat-1 is a next generation, high throughput satellite that will provide fast and affordable broadband service to all Canadians,” according to Telesat President and CEO Dan Goldberg.

• Magellan Aerospace executives couldn't wait for the actual completion of its new Advanced Composite Manufacturing Centre in Winnipeg according to the October 25th, 2011 Ottawa Citizen article "Magellan Aerospace Holds Ceremony For Its Not Yet Completed Advanced Composite Manufacturing Centre." According to the article, the 138,000 square foot Winnipeg facility "is in the final stages of being equipped with advanced technology for the manufacture of complex composite fabrication and assemblies.  When fully commissioned it will be one of the most advanced composite manufacturing and assembly centres in North America." The new facility is expected to produce F-35 Lightning II horizontal tail components.

Dr. John MacDonald.

• John MacDonald might currently be the chairman and CEO of Day 4 Energy, a global provider of solar photovoltaic products and might also have just been awarded the Leadership Award in recognition of the contributions he has made to B.C. exports throughout his career as reported in the October 28th, 2011 Vancouver Sun article "BC Export Award winners announced." But a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, MacDonald also co-founded MDA, Canada’s second largest space technology company after Telsat, so it's nice to see that he's still going strong.