Friends of the Canadian Space Industry

In his 1954 science fiction novella "Sucker Bait," author Issac Asimov postulated the need for a "synthesist," or academic generalist able to correlate apparently unrelated facts from different areas to draw useful conclusions and avoid the limitations of narrow overspecialization.

Of course, Asimov wasn't alone among science fiction writers with this concept. There were synthesists in John Brunner's "Stand on Zanzibar," synthesists in James Hogan's "Inherit the Stars" and "nexialists" in A. E. van Vogt's "Voyage of the Space Beagle."

Reality also mirrors this pattern, at least if you're an entrepreneur (perhaps the very definition of generalist) in the Canadian space industry. Here are some of the organizations you'll likely come across.  

• The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) – A not-for-profit organization advocating on aerospace policy issues that have a direct impact on aerospace companies and aerospace jobs in Canada. Heavily involved in the November 2012 Aerospace Review, the second volume of which was focused almost entirely on the Canadian space industry. Ex-Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Chris Hadfield will be speaking at the upcoming 2013 AIAC Aerospace Summit, in Ottawa from October 16th - 17th.

• The Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies (ACCT) – An advocacy group for technology transfer and commercialization. Membership includes "more than 110 academic-based research organizations including universities, hospitals, colleges and polytechnics" according to the website. The organization possesses useful connections with a variety of mostly US based intellectual property and venture funding organizations.

• The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA Alliance) – The largest hi-tech association in Canada. Originally focused on software and telecommunications, CATA has recently partnered with CGI to move into the healthcare market.

• The Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) – A nonprofit technical organization for aeronautics, space and remote sensing. Host for a variety of annual events including the upcoming 65th International Astronautics Congress (IAC), which will be held in Toronto from September 29th - October 3rd.

• The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Science (CAAS) - Established to encourage, recognize and promote the values and excitement of science and engineering, and to enhance the links between our educational system, industrial base and the wider community. A multidisciplinary organization with an open membership to everyone regardless of age, race or educational background.

• The Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries (CADSI) – The “voice” the Canadian defense and security industries and organizers of the annual CANSEC trade shows.

• The Canadian Association of Rocketry listing of affiliated organizations - A self-supporting, non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to promote development of amateur rocketry as a recognized sport and worthwhile activity.

• The Canadian Association of Science Centres - An organization promoting and encouraging public involvement with Canadian public science centres and the organizations needed to support them.

• The Canadian Astronomical Society – Founded in 1971 and incorporated in 1983 as a society of professional astronomers devoted to the promotion and advancement of knowledge of the universe through research and education. Membership is open to persons with a professional involvement with these goals in astronomy and the related sciences.

• The Canadian Foundation for the International Space University (CFISU) – The charitable organization promoting the International Space University (ISU) in Canada.

• The Canadian Science Policy Centre - Organizers of the yearly Canadian Science Policy Conference.

• The Canadian Space Society (CSS) – A non-profit corporation promoting Canadian space activities. Organizes the annual Canadian Space Summit. 

• Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) - An industry lobby group representing 650 solar energy groups throughout Canada.

• CANEUS – A non-profit organization fostering the development of Micro and Nano Technologies (MNT).

• The Centre for Commercialization of Research - A member of the International Commercialization Alliance (ICA) focused on commercializing research from public institutions.

• The Centre for Spatial Law and Policy - Focused on legal and policy issues associated with geo-spatial data and technology.

• Engineers Canada - The national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations that regulate the profession of engineering in Canada and license the country's more than 260,000 members of the engineering profession.

• Friends of the CRC – An association of alumni of the Communications Research Centre (CRC), the government department responsible for most of Canada’s early satellite launches. Provides articles on early Canadian efforts by some of the people who were actually there. 

• The Geological Association of Canada - A national geoscience society, publisher and distributor of geoscience books and journals.

• The Geomatics Industry Association of Canada (GIAC) – Canada’s premier source of information on geomatics, the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering geographic or spatially referenced information. 

• Mitacs – A national, not-for-profit research organization, developing the next generation of Canadian innovators.

• Polytechnics Canada - The "voice of leading research-intensive, publicly funded colleges and institutes of technology." Strong advocate for moving some of the government money focused on R&D out of universities and into colleges and trade schools.

• The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - 4,000 members, including about 500 "unattached" members from remote parts of Canada and around the world and strong chapters in Vancouver and 28 other centres across the country.

• The York Technology Alliance - Typical of efforts across Canada (although perhaps more successful), this association acts as a centre point of the technology cluster for York Region and the Greater Toronto Area.

Asimov didn't just write one story on the perils of scientific overspecialization. Others include "The Dead Past" and "Profession."

Over time, he would even begin to practice what he preached, making himself into a professional generalist by writing popular science books on a number of different fields along with the "The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science," an overview of the topic as a whole.

Policy Meetings, Summits and Conferences

The Canadian Space Summit begins this Friday, November 20th and continues on until Sunday afternoon, November 22nd at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.

According to the website:

The goal of the Summit is to engage industry, decision-makers and the public in an open and positive discussion of the future of space exploration and development through lectures by invited speakers, panel sessions and networking opportunities.

The speaker list and schedule for the Summit is posted on the Canadian Space Society (CSS) website here and, according to CSS President Kevin Shortt, "things really look like they are shaping up for a great conference."

Jacquie Perrin from CBC Newsworld has agreed to be our host for a talk show-style question and answer period with all the session chairs during the Friday night registration session.

Of course, not all media coverage is from the mass media. Social media users like Jay Daily have also posted comments and information on the Space Summit of sites like facebook, twitter and others.

Science Policies, Space Summits and Great Gossip

It's the fall conference season, that traditional period from late September until late November when we attend conferences, reacquaint ourselves with colleagues, compare notes and stay up late telling terrible stories about mutual acquaintances who are probably really nice people except for one spectacular slip-up during a previous conference.

So with that in mind here are two quick promo's for conferences I'll be attending and reporting on over the next little while.

The Canadian Science Policy Conference is this October 28th to 30th in Toronto and focused on attracting academics and others with "an interest in the intersection of policy with science and technology." Speakers include Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear, Minister for Training John Molloy and conservative populist Preston Manning.

This conference  is specifically targeted at "scientists, engineers, policymakers, industrial R&D managers, association officials, government grant recipients, students, science diplomats, government affairs specialists, public affairs officers, science writers, and others with an interest in the intersection of policy with science and technology" according to their website.

The second conference I'll be attending is organized by the Canadian Space Society, which has just released the speaker schedule for the 2009 Canadian Space Summit at the Royal Military College in Kingston Ontario on November 20th - 22nd.

The Space Summit is expecting to attract a roster of professionals, academics, government officials and enthusiasts interested in this year's theme of "Multi-Use Missions: Opportunities for Collaboration on Space Technologies."

But since I'm chairing the commercial track, you should also know that I'm especially looking for Canadian based aerospace and new-space focused firms interested in business opportunities related to the commercialization of basic science.

If you're attending either of these events, feel free to let me know and we can meet up for coffee and juicy stories.

I'm quite interested in stories from businesses (or even from CSA employees) involved with commercialization and technology transfer through the Canadian Space Agency, especially if you've had exposure to any of the items listed in this document on innovative technical opportunities.

The Difference Between Butter Knives and Bayonets

Adam Côté, an MA candidate at the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carelton University believes that comprehensive legal structures governing space based activities are vital in order to provide the appropriate framework to undertake space based scientific, engineering, business and technical projects in much the same way as the works of Hugo Grotius, Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili laid the foundations for modern international law and contributed to the growth of trans-national trade, exploration and discovery beginning in the 17th century.
And the key to any international treaty or legal structure, according to Côté, is a credible verification regime.

He will be speaking at the upcoming Canadian Space Summit, being held on November 20-22, 2009 in Kingston, Ontario as part of the law and policy track, which is focused on space traffic management, potential legal regimes for space debris removal, international space surveillance/situational awareness and space arms control.

According to Côté, verification is the process of gathering and analyzing information to assess compliance or non-compliance with an international agreement through the development of defined criteria to distinguish between harmful, space based devices and benign satellites.

Simply put, we should be able to tell the difference between a "butter knife" and a "bayonet," the latter of which generally doesn't work well when spreading marmalade.

"The design of a space system, which is constrained by the initial launch and by the space environment, is generally closely related to its function which can be extrapolated from form, location and observed activities," states Côté. "Plus, the development of verification mechanisms based on observational evidence is something that has been done many times previously as part of a international treaties on trade practices, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.”

So what's the real difference between a space based butter knife and a space based bayonet?

Côté won't tell me that over the phone. He says I need to go to the 2009 Canadian Space Summit and attend his presentation in order to find out.

For more information on the 2009 Canadian Space Summit, please contact the Canadian Space Society.

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.