We Won't Have Dan Friedmann to Kick Around Anymore!

          By Henry Stewart

Howard Lance, the new boss. Photo c/o MDA.

Richmond, BC based MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA), the Canadian space company associated with the various RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites and the iconic Canadarm, announced Thursday that it had hired American Howard Lance to lead the company.

But Lance, who replaces outgoing CEO Daniel Friedmann, will not be based in the BC head office when he takes over on May 16th.

Instead, he'll be working out of MDA’s Space Systems Loral (SSL) subsidiary in Palo Alto, California.

All of which likely makes perfect sense to executives in a firm where most of the revenue over the next few years is expected to derive from the US.

As outlined by outgoing CEO Friedmann in the April 14th, 2016 Business in Vancouver article, "Newly hired CEO of Richmond’s MacDonald, Dettwiler to be based in US," two thirds of MDA's business today is in the United States. According to Friedmann:

...in order to open up that market, having somebody based there is the best approach. It doesn’t have any impact on the Canadian operation... 

We need to be in the States and we need to have a clear person so they can talk to the customers, which I can’t today...

According to the article, Friedmann said he and the MDA management team approached the board of directors about relocating the CEO role (and Friedmann) to the US, before ultimately deciding on recruiting an outside candidate already based there.

Outgoing CEO Friedmann. Photo c/o Ideacity.

As outlined in his Bloomberg executive bio, Friedmann has been CEO of MDA since 1995. 

He joined the company in 1979 and has held a number of positions including engineering operations, sales and marketing and chief operating officer.

Under his tenure, MDA grew from a $100Mln CDN domestic and privately held ground systems company to a $2Bln CDN internationally oriented and publicly traded satellite communication and information company.

Incoming CEO Lance is currently an executive advisor at the Blackstone Group,  an American multinational private equity, investment banking and alternative asset management corporation based in New York City.

Between 2003 and 2011, Lance was also president and chief executive officer of Harris Corporation, an American communications company, defense contractor and information technology services provider to the government, defense and commercial sectors.

According to Friedmann, Lance took Harris "from $2 billion to $6 billion, which is exactly what we’re trying to do now that we’ve got to $2 billion ourselves.”

A happier time, with far more Canadian content but less revenue. As outlined in the March 15th, 2011 post, "MacDonald Dettwiler gets "Anchor Customer" for Brampton Robotics Plant," the original plan, after MDA failed to sell itself to ATK in 2008 (which was explored in the April 10th, 2008 CBC post "Federal government blocks sale of MDA space division"), was to develop commercially available on-orbit satellite servicing for the open market based around robotics technology developed through MDA participation in the Canadarm program. When that fell through, as outlined in the January 15th, 2012 post "MDA Satellite Servicing Agreement with Intelsat Expires," another new plan was developed. This time the intent was to buy a US satellite company in order to gain access to the lucrative American market. As outlined in the June 27th, 2012 post, "MacDonald Dettwiler buys Space Systems Loral for $875M," that plan succeeded in a spectacular fashion and led directly to the current situation, where MDA receives 2/3's of its revenue from the US. Screen shot c/o The Commercial Space blog.

Friedmann will remain with the MDA board following the transition.

As outlined on the MDA website, the current board is composed of chairman of the board Robert L. Phillips (Vancouver, BC), Friedmann (Vancouver, BC), chairman of the audit committee Thomas S. Chambers (West Vancouver, BC), Dennis H. Chookaszian (Wilmette, Ill), former deputy NASA administrator Lori B. Garver (Maclean, VA), chairman of the governance and nominating committee Brian G. Kenning (Vancouver, BC), Fares F. Salloum (Plano, TX) and Eric Zahler (NY, NY).

EDITORS NOTE: When it rains it pours, at least according to the old saying and that phrase is likely true, especially for Canadian based MDA employees. 

As outlined in the April 19th, 2016 SpaceFlight Insider post, "OneWeb Announces Florida-Based Satellite Production Facility," the Channel Islands based OneWeb has "inked an agreement with Space Florida that could see as many as 250 high tech jobs brought to Florida’s Space Coast."

“This facility will create a high-volume satellite manufacturing capability, enabling mass production with dramatically lower cost for the world’s newest communication satellite technology,” said Allan McArtor, Chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, Inc, which was part of the winning bid.

As outlined in the November 2nd, 2015 post, "MDA CEO Dan Friedmann Didn't Threaten to Leave Canada Last Week!," MDA was hoping that a successful bid for the OneWeb factory contract would provide future work for the MDA Montreal facility, which is currently finishing up on contracts related to RADARSAT Constellation.

Que Sera, Sera.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer.

Shoot the Moon: An ICBM Crashportation "Bridge to Nowhere" to Help Start a Moon Village

          By Michael Turner

The president of Orbital ATK's flight systems group, which operates the Minotaur family of ICBM-based launch vehicles and the CEO of Virgin Galactic have crossed swords (or maybe plowshares) over the most recent variation of a very old idea; the hauling of old ICBM components out of retirement to be put to more peaceful uses.

A reminder that there is rarely if ever anything new under the sun. The abandoned Fort Churchill Rocket Research Range in Northern Manitoba is now a national historic site. As outlined in the July 11th, 2011 post, "A 1968 Battle Between Poker Flat & Fort Churchill," it once directly competed with, and was eventually driven out of business by, re-purposed US built ICBM's launched from Alaska. In the 1990's, as outlined in the March 1st, 2010 post, "A Short History of Akjuit Aerospace," there was also a failed plan to use re-purposed ex-Soviet ICBM's for launch at Churchill. Photo c/o Canada's Historic Places.

As outlined in the April 5th, 2016 Space News post, "Ending ban on retired ICBMs would allow U.S. companies to reclaim small satellite launch market," Orbital ATK flight systems group president Scott Lehr says that using his firm's rocket motors to launch small satellites would make the US more competitive in that particular segment of the launch market, which is currently dominated by subsidized players abroad.

However, as outlined in the April 5th, 2016 SpaceNews post, "Dumping excess boosters on market would short-circuit commercial space renaissance," Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides disagrees.

But Whitesides has a pecuniary interest of his own. Virgin Galactic not only offers perpetually delayed suborbital fun-rides, but has also begun a small satellite launch initiative of its own, one that might even orbit a satellite before anything very recreational happens elsewhere in the company.

Whitesides' complaint is understandable: there could be a "crowding out" of private sector initiatives.

The Minotaur V, derived originally from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM, was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, (now Orbital ATK) and made its maiden flight on September 7th, 2013. It carried the NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. Graphic c/o Orbital ATK. 

Perhaps it's my trollish nature, but I'd like to see what I can do to antagonize both sides of this debate.

First, however, let me go back to an old ruckus that bid fair to burst at the seams with political venom back in 2008: the uproar over U.S. congressional "earmarks." Many projects that enjoyed "earmark" funding promises at that time were derided as "bridges to nowhere."

Sarah Palin is shovel ready. Photo c/o Washington Post.

Since 2008 was also the year of Sarah Palin's vice-presidential candidacy, and since Alaska had two bridges to nowhere earmarks of its own, I found myself studying bridge projects. I did this in (frankly partisan) hopes of finding some awful embarrassment for Palin. In a way, I was disappointed: neither Alaskan bridge proposal was as ridiculous as it seemed at first. In fact ...

One of these Alaskan bridges would have connected a (low-volume) international airport to a small town nearby. It probably would have improved the local economy by getting more tourists who were bound for Misty Fjords National Monument to stay longer, at a slightly more developed way-station. The other bridge would have connected Anchorage to a relatively undeveloped subdivision across a river that was served by a ferry only when winter ice didn't make the transit too difficult. It might have sparked a construction boom across the water from downtown.

But it gets better. With the kind of low-interest financing that tends to be more available when the US Federal Reserve targets the lower bound of interest rates in a recession, it seemed possible that these bridges had a kind of business case. That is, they could eventually have been revenue-positive for their respective municipalities. Coincident with the Fed targeting the lower bound is the economic predicament that justifies such low interest rates in the first place: high unemployment in a recession. Later in 2008, the global economy imploded. Suddenly, certain Bridges to Nowhere looked a lot like "shovel-ready projects."

"Shovel-ready" at least according to Wikipedia is "a political term used to describe construction projects (usually larger-scale infrastructure) where planning and engineering is advanced enough that with sufficient funding, construction can begin within a very short time." As outlined in the March 27th, 2016 post, "No Puppies Falling from the Heavens With Space Funding in this Federal Budget," quite a large proportion of the $11.9Bln over five years allocated in the latest Federal budget  for "infrastructure" could be categorized as being advanced enough that with sufficient funding, construction can begin within a very short time. Cartoon c/o Graham Mackay.

Bridge projects are infrastructure. Stimulus spending tends to be oriented toward infrastructure because it's most often "shovel-ready" when a recession hits. Infrastructure investment doesn't cause much private sector "crowding out" -- because it's not something the private sector directly invests in. It's a "public good:" few users directly pay the carrying costs, but if the project is chosen wisely, the economy as a whole tends to benefit for a long time to come.

George Whitesides. Photo c/o Space News.

Getting back to space launcher plowshares: to be honest, I think George Whitesides is pretty close to correct. Even though a private-sector entity that uses freebie ICBM motors is still in the private sector, those freebies could mean there's effectively been some crowding out done with a past public investment.

But Scott Lehr also has an excellent point about how private sector space launch initiatives in the U.S. are not on a very level international playing field to begin with.

Against this background of two launcher company executives facing off, I see ... the Moon. Remember the Moon?

Scott Lehr. Photo c/o Space News.

The FAA's arm for regulating commercial spaceflight has responded enthusiastically to the current ESA director's proposal to put a base on the moon as outlined in the May 1st, 2015 Space.com post, "Europe's Next Space Chief Wants a Moon Colony on the Lunar Far Side," and has done so with possibly more enthusiasm than any government entity in the EU.

Well, there's another book being talked here, isn't there? In this case, it's a government book. The FAA's new arm for for overseeing commercial spaceflight would prefer to have more US based spaceflight to oversee. And if those launches are mostly for ESA and for any Moon Village partners that happen to materialize, well, it's still spaceflight, potentially by American launch providers, launches that could still take place within FAA purview.

Let's look at the bright side of all this self-serving talk. Government can sometimes take an economic "pump-priming" role, shoes that the private sector won't fill on its own. Government is perhaps at its best when it steers private interests toward public good in ways that also help those private interests. (Did I mention I'm running for chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce? No? Well, anyway....)

What I propose is to crash a lot of retreaded, unladen ICBMs wherever the ESA says they'd like their Moon village.

Since these vehicles would arrive at speeds in excess of 2 km/sec, the vehicle wreckage would be quite fragmentary, to be sure. But the detritus would consist largely of pure metal pieces.

When you consider the costs that would need to be sunk to mine and refine metals on the moon, starting from bare regolith, these rocket chunks would have great value. Compared to anything you could scoop up on the moon today, they would have enormous value added.

Proposal for a European Space Agency (ESA) Moon village. As outlined in the January 4th, 2016 IFL Science post, "European Space Agency Plans To Build Moon Village By 2030," the multi-dome lunar base would use 3D printing construction concepts. Once assembled, the inflated domes would be covered with a layer of 3D-printed lunar regolith by robots to help protect the occupants. Graphic c/o ESA/ Foster + Partners.

A big plain strewn with pure metal on the moon could give the Moon village a major initial boost to in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Even in the meantime, metal 3D printers could use collected shrapnel as feedstock. The sooner a Moon Village can scale up, the more opportunities that launch providers -- including American providers -- would see to serve a growing village.

Well, let politicking begin. Surely, the U.S. should crash this "bridge to nowhere" on the Moon only with "international earmarks;" that is, it should make sure Moon Village partners only "mine" the crashed metals if they bought them at some market rate.

The proceeds from the sales could be paid into an account that could be drawn upon by Moon Village partners only to buy launch services from American commercial providers. (Perhaps our Sam Dinkin would like to do the metals auction design?)

I'm not sure whether I've antagonized both sides of this debate enough. My hope is far more vaulting, actually. It's to antagonize sides of the debate I haven't even heard of yet.

This is ambitious of me, I suppose.

But we all have our dreams of greatness, do we not?
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Michael Turner is the executive director of Project Persephone, a Japanese based society founded with the goal of bringing space development to the masses. He lives in Tokyo.

Sudbury Graphics Design Firm Sees the Big Picture

          By Chuck Black

If you're a scientist or an engineer with an idea and looking for funding, you might need to talk with Kris Holland. He runs MAFIC Studios, a full featured graphics house focused on the science and engineering profession, where client ideas are taken from a conversation, napkin sketch, or computer data, and turned into images, animations and sometimes, even hardware.

A concept for a thermal space solar power satellite by Keith Henson, Steve Nixon and Kris Holland; animated by Kris Holland/Mafic Studios. To see the complete video, simply click on the graphic above. Screen shot c/o Mafic Studios.

"People will pay a premium for accuracy," he said during a recent interview. "I can create the illustration and produce the video with enough expertise so that my clients don't need to correct my mistakes." 

His work has been on most major TV networks, including CNN, CBC, CTV, TVO, PBS, Discovery, Space, NBC, CBS and SyFy and in numerous publications worldwide such as Popular Science, Popular Photography, and Time Magazine.

He's also done work for and served on the Space Canada board of directors and acted as a regional director of the National Space Society (NSS). Rumour has it that the firm has also done graphics for a variety of Canadian Space Agency (CSA) projects.

Holland characterized himself as a generalist, a person competent in several different fields or activities, but with enough expertise in graphic design to be able to flesh out a scientific concept or an engineering design study.

A 2007 design for a littoral combat ship as outlined  in the February 15, 2008 Popular Science article, "Warships of Tomorrow." Image c/o Mafic Studios.

Holland was born in Sudbury and has spent most of his adult life focused on the technical challenges of computer graphics. "Most of my regular work is in this area. Organizations rarely appreciate how much graphics can help them raise funds. This can be made much easier when the artist supporting their vision has the technical chops to talk with their engineers at their level."

Kris Holland. Photo c/o K. Holland.

But he has also developed substantial expertise with training and safety videos for the mining industry. 

Over the next little while, he's hoping to develop the capacity to build physical models of the projects he's currently imaging.

"I need to do something that doesn't involve just looking at a computer screen. I've also had trouble finding people who can build hardware objects quickly while saving time and budget by doing everything under the same roof," he said.

In a field where technical knowledge too often resides in silos, Holland believes that his broad range of inter-related hobbies and interests allows him to blend arts and sciences with a little technical wizardry in order to properly and scientifically image the ideas of the future. 

Chuck Black.

To learn more about Kris Holland and/ or MAFIC Studios, check out www.maficstudios.com.
___________________________________________________________

Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

The National Research Council Doesn't Fit Within the Current Innovation Agenda

          By Henry Stewart

Things look grim at the National Research Council (NRC), especially since current NRC president John McDougall embarked on an indefinite leave of absence "for personal reasons" on April 4th.

Later that same week, Federal science minister Kirsty Duncan released a statement indicating that the government had explored plans to "rebrand" the department as "CNRCSolutions." And by Friday, the Ottawa Citizen had published an editorial questioning the NRC's continued scientific usefulness to the Federal government's "innovation agenda."

The NRC's original headquarters on Sussex Drive in Ottawa. Established in 1916 under the pressure of World War I to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research, the current NRC acts as "Canada's premier science and technology research organization," at least according to the NRC website. Several Nobel Laureates have been associated with the NRC including Rudolph Marcus, John Polanyi and Gerhard Herzberg. Specialized agencies and crown corporations which began as programs within the NRC include Atomic Energy of Canada (AEC) the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Photo c/o The Office of the Auditor General of Canada.

But the real story behind the NRC's current difficulties goes back several years and begins with how Canada, which was always reasonably good at primary research, was being left behind in the race to turn those scientific advances into useful commercial products.

As outlined in the May 7th, 2013 National Post article, "National Research Council revamp fuels David Suzuki's claims of a Conservative ‘war on science’," the Federal government of the day under then Prime Minister Stephen Harper concluded, based in part on the 2011 Tom Jenkins led "Review of Federal Support to Research and Development," that "more direct investment, rather than spending 70% of R&D money on tax credits" was required to jump-start Canadian innovation and create Canadian jobs.

But the Harper government, after doubling direct R&D investment, bailed on adapting the second Jenkin's recommendation that "the NRC be broken up and all its research activities be absorbed by other agencies and universities."

Instead, the conservatives, at least according to the article, "retained the NRC edifice and renovated its interior," by withholding new funding from the NRC and rerouting it into other organizations, but allowing the organization to retain and operate existing programs at a  reduced level.

It was also noted that the announced changes, were "not likely to be the end of the overhaul of the government’s research and development efforts."

And they weren't, although no one expected the next overhaul to originate in the Liberal party.

An April 11th, 2016 screen shot from the NRC website. It's worth noting that OpenText Corporation chairman Thomas Jenkins, who chaired the 2011 panel responsible for reviewing federal investments in R&D (the Jenkins Report) currently acts as chair of the NRC Council, which "reviews the strategic directions, oversees the performance of the organization and provides a challenge function with respect to the work of the President and senior management" of the NRC. Screenshot c/o NRC.

The current crisis, as outlined in the April 4th, 2016 Globe and Mail article, "National Research Council president takes indefinite leave of absence," began with the federal government confirmation of MacDougal's leave of absence.

But, as also outlined in the article, "acting president Maria Aubrey wrote that a planned reorganization of the research council from three to five divisions, expected to take effect on April 1, had been postponed. The letter said that part of the reason for the delay was to 'ensure alignment with the federal government’s emerging innovation agenda.'”

NDP science critic Kennedy Stewart. Photo  c/o Vancouver Sun.

The very next day, as outlined in the April 5th, 2016 Ottawa Citizen article, "Confusion, secrecy reign inside the National Research Council," Kennedy Stewart, the NDP science critic, was quoted  as saying that "morale is awful inside the NRC, and the latest postponement 'is just going to add to the confusion.'"

“No one had any information,” one veteran researcher said. “Nobody knew what was going on, and this was as recently as two weeks ago. We were supposed to have a major reorganization on April 1, and nobody had any information."

Other news continued to trickle out. For example, as outlined in the April 6th, 2016 Ottawa Citizen article, "NRC 'solutions' rebranding quietly dropped without explanation," an until now unknown plan to  "re-brand" the NRC as "CNRC solutions," as part of the organizations 100th anniversary celebration, was quietly dropped in February, 2016.

Federal science minister Kirsty Duncan. Photo c/o Daily O.

And by Friday, as outlined in the April 8th, 2016 Ottawa Citizen editorial, "Do we still need the National Research Council?," people had begun asking the obvious questions. According to the article:

The recent federal budget, at a glance, illustrates the problem. Chirping happily about the “digital economy,” “world-class research,” “continued leadership in space,” the “ingenuity of Canadian industry” and so on, the budget mentions the NRC only as a second-stringer. Instead, Budget 2016 rattles off extra funding for a host of taxpayer-funded, science-y agencies that are NOT the NRC. 

It also highlights the work of other organizations, such as Genome Canada, the Stem Cell Network, the Brain Canada Foundation, and the Perimeter Institute, for their sophisticated science. 

Even the Liberals’ beloved research on electric cars won’t flow through the NRC, but through Natural Resources Canada. It would seem no one knows what to do with this agency.

But they do.

As outlined in the 2013 Jenkins recommendations, the current plan is the same as the old one; the NRC will be broken up (although it might keep its name and offices) and its research activities will be absorbed by other agencies and universities.

Conservative science critic Marilyn Gladu. Photo c/o Toronto Sun.

Of course, with politician's being politicians, it's only natural for the opposition conservatives to have also weighed in on this matter.

And they have.

As outlined in the April 7th, 2016 Ottawa Citizen post, "Conservatives take U-turn, step back from 'business-first' NRC,"  conservative party science critic Marilyn Gladu has indicated that she and science minister Duncan both want "to balance the NRC’s applied industrial work with research in more theoretical areas often called basic, or fundamental, science."

Gladu also indicated that she could work comfortably with the Liberal minister in this area.

She's more than likely correct.

After all, there has been a general consensus on this policy among both liberals and conservatives since 2011, when the Jenkins report was released. The NRC doesn't really fit within the current innovation agenda.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer.

Deltion Innovations Receives Gov't Funding to Develop Multi-Tool for Space Mining; Will Anyone Buy It?

          By Chuck Black

For a man who had officially "hit the jackpot" by being awarded $700,000 CDN from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to build a "multi-purpose tool for shallow depth drilling on the Moon and other celestial bodies," Deltion Innovations CEO Dale Boucher seemed somewhat less than sanguine.

"Don't you understand. If we don't tell the CSA to invest in something which isn't simply another variation of the existing satellite technology we've been building for the last fifty years, then we'll be left behind technologically as other nations move out into space," he said during a phone interview last Wednesday.

Wednesday in Sudbury. Deltion CEO Boucher with MP's Marc Serré (LIB Nickel Belt) and Paul A. Lefebvre (LIB Sudbury) making the announcement that Deltion had received $70,000 CDN funding from the CSA to build a space "multi-purpose tool." Photo c/o @MarcSerreMP. 

As outlined in the April 6th, 2016 Bay Today article, "Deltion Innovations lands contract to build multi-purpose tool for building and drilling in space," the newly funded Deltion Innovations' percussive and rotary multi-purpose tool (PROMPT) will be able to drill into the moon or Mars at small depths – around 10 centimeters – to collect samples for analysis.

As outlined in the February 5th, 2014 post, "Canadian Government Funds Proposed Lunar Drill," NASA is considering PROMPT for its proposed (but so far unfunded) Resource Prospector Mission.

But PROMPT is also an appropriate tool for a variety of other proposed and scheduled space missions expected over the next few years. These include the missions proposed by asteroid mining companies Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, along with the missions proposed by several of the competitors involved with the Google Lunar X-Prize such as Astrobotic and Moon Express.

Of course, CSA funding doesn't guarantee that any specific tool or technology developed in Canada will sell on the open market. 

And Ottawa has rolled out programs like this in the past which sometimes haven't gone anywhere,

As outlined in the February 23rd, 2014 post, "Canadian Firm Plans to Corner the Worldwide Rover Chassis Market," the most recent attempt was New Hamburg based Ontario Drive and Gear's (ODG) quest to pitch  a Canadian rover for the proposed NASA Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction (RESOLVE) mission to hunt for water on the Moon in 2017. That quest is still ongoing. 

Lessons our space agency should learn. A fascinating, although not often publicly available comment, from the March 21st, 2016 Space Review article, "Review: Moon Shot," which discussed the Google Lunar X-Prize and Moon Shot, the recently released a series of promotional films focused around the competition. Screen shot c/o Space Review. 

And that's why Boucher is concerned. "Private industry is moving forward and becoming less about geo-science and more about the appropriate use of the correct geo-technology for commercial ventures."

He's worried that the traditional focus of the CSA, as simply a component manufacturer for larger programs originating with the space agencies of other nations, is a sadly outdated concept in an era where even medium sized corporations like SpaceX can drive their own space programs towards the creation of reusable launch vehicles and the colonization of Mars.

As outlined in the April 10th, 2016 Washington Post article, "What SpaceX’s landing means for commercial space travel,"  the audience watching SpaceX’s live web broadcast of its launch from Cape Canaveral on Friday "was treated to a show that until just a few years ago was widely discounted as impossible — the vertical landing of the Falcon 9 rocket, which used its engine thrust to slow down and touch softly on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean."

Meanwhile, back in Canada, and if all goes according to plan, Deltion could be testing its PROMPT, multi-purpose tool prototype by Christmas.

The company is subcontracting with two other Ontario based companies – Neptec Design Group, based in Kanata, ON and Atlas Copco, in North Bay, to work on the PROMPT project.

It's probably a pretty good multi-purpose tool as these things go, able to work remotely at extreme distances and under extreme temperatures. It's likely a far better multi-tool than the ones you can buy at Canadian Tire.

Chuck Black.

But still...

Here's hoping that Boucher's comments push a couple of his colleagues and a few of the other multi-purpose tools currently working at the CSA to start working on items with a little more vision.

Canada's space future depends on it.
___________________________________________________________

Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

Do Patents Filed by Retired Canadian Forces Veterans Belong to the Government?

         By Chuck Black

There are a lot of retired military personnel in Canada and quite a number of them work in the space sector creating innovative new applications for space derived technology.

But a recent legal ruling, which classifies most Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veterans, reservists and retirees as "public servants" who need permission from the Federal government to apply for a patent, has at least one Canadian advocacy group up in arms.

Louis Brown, currently the president of  North Bay Ontario based NOR Environmental. Up until February 2016, Brown and his firm thought that they held a patent for proprietary technology. Photo c/o CBC. 

The ruling revolves around retired military veteran Louis Brown, who is currently the president of North Bay Ontario based NOR Environmental. As outlined in the March 7th, 2016 CBC News post, "Military vet battles government over intellectual property," Brown, who retired from the CAF in 1993, brought suit against the Federal government over a patent issued in the US and Canada which he claimed had been violated when the Federal government issued a contract to a US based firm for similar technology in 2009. 

The Canadian government moved to dismiss the case by citing the Public Service Invention Act and arguing that it already owned the patent since Brown was formally a public servant on the supplementary reserve (a listing of inactive or CAF members who are willing and available for active service when requested). In February 2016, a Federal court of Appeals ruling sided with the government.

Since no one previously knew about the appropriate steps needed for retired CAF veterans to retain control over intellectual property, the possibility exists that the Federal government now has a legal right to other patents filed by perfectly law abiding retirees. 

John Reid. Photo c/o CBC.

As outlined by Canadian Advance Technology Alliance (CATA) CEO, John Reid in the March 31st, 2016 CATA press release "Patent Infringement Advocacy Alert: Canadian Patent ruling locks out retired Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans from advancing Canada's innovation nation," the new ruling effects private companies which have:

...employed veterans and reservists working full time in the private sector (and) must now seek permission from the federal government before applying for a patent for their inventions if an inventor is on a supplementary reserve list. 

That means any patent that has been issued and currently thought to be owned by a Canadian corporation where a named inventor is retired CAF on a supplementary reserve list may in fact be owned by the government.

In order to mitigate the ownership risk in future patent applications, companies will have to disclose their invention to an appropriate Minister and await the government's decision to either claim ownership or give approval to allow the application to proceed without the government's ownership claim. According to Reid:

This is totally impractical. I can't imagine that companies would be willing to disclose their confidential and time sensitive invention to the government and wait months for a decision when the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in contrast has adopted a first to file system. 

Many times applications are rushed because an invention is about to be disclosed at an industry conference. Any delay in this process will potentially harm the competitive position of Canadian companies in their respective markets.

As outlined in the May 6th, 2015 Edison Nation post, "Patents 101: The Basics of Priority Claims," there are substantial differences between the first to file (FTF) and the first to invent (FTI) systems of registering patent claims. First to file is currently the option of choice in all countries, including the United States, which switched after the enactment of the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Any Canadian requirement for "public servants" to receive permission from the Federal government before applying for a patent would act as a barrier to entry for Canadian's looking to protect their intellectual property in the US. Graphic c/o Edison Nation.

As outlined in the March 31st, 2016 CBC News post, "Advocates call for action on veteran's patent case," CATA has launched a campaign for action and a survey for feedback from members.

Reid believes the problem should be easy to fix.

"I'd be very surprised if we can't get somebody to look at this and fix it. It seems fixable to me," said Reid who added he's already been in touch with the federal minister in charge of innovation, Navdeep Bains.

According to Michael Cannata, a partner and co-founder at Patent Monetization Inc. and member of the CATA Innovation Leadership Council, the unintended consequences of this ruling impacts the IP holdings of many Canadian enterprises. In essence, any veteran with an employment contract containing intellectual property clauses could now be compromised.

The fear is that tech companies will simply mitigate the patent ownership risk by not hiring well qualified ex CAF or those with military connections for R&D jobs. This would create a far different situation than that which exists in other countries, especially the US, where highly educated and knowledgeable veterans are far more easily integrated into important civilian positions.

Chuck Black.

It will be interesting to see how this gets reconciled.
___________________________________________________________

Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

Changing Times; Space Start-up Accelerator Announced in Waterloo

          By Brian Orlotti

On April 24th, as part of Waterloo, Ontario's contribution the upcoming International Space Apps Challenge a small Canadian NewSpace start-up plans to help unveil Canada’s first space startup accelerator.

The move is an important milestone in Canadian space history and highlights the continuing shift of space activities away from government/academia-focused models and towards those of the IT industry.

Bob Dylan singing "The Times They Are A Changin," in 1964. Screenshot c/o You-Tube.

The revelation first came out in the March 22nd, 2016 Cantech letters post, "Waterloo’s SkyWatch to host regional NASA Space Apps Challenge."  As outlined in the post:

SkyWatch is promising to open a “space startup-specific” accelerator sometime in 2016, providing a venue for open source, not-for-profit, and for-profit ventures, who will have access to technical resources, NASA’s open data and tools, community support and mentorship, and business resources to develop the next generation of space innovation solutions.

The tantalizing press release, lacking the specifics of who will fund the program and how it will be administered, seems almost to have been released by accident. As outlined in e-mail correspondence with SkyWatch Space Applications co-founder James Slifierz:

Co-founder Slifierz. Photo c/o Linked-In.

...While the press release mostly pertains to the Space Apps Challenge (which will be held in Waterloo on April 22nd - 24th), there is mention of the accelerator. 

Other than the fact that it will be coming in 2016, and that it will be based in Waterloo, we won't be revealing any more facts until we get closer to the Space Apps Challenge... 

We'll be putting out a press release the week of the Space Apps Challenge and I would be happy to talk about the details of the program at that point.

Skywatch Space Applications is a Waterloo, ON based company focused on creating apps that harness government open-sourced astronomical data.

As outlined in the May 19th, 2014 post, "CDN "SkyWatch" wins "Best Use of Data" at Int'l Space Apps Challenge," the origins of the company date back to April 2014, when it was a team competing in the 2014 NASA International Space Apps Challenge, an annual competition held in cities around the world in which teams create apps, robotics and other technologies that harness open-sourced data from NASA and other US government agencies. 

Skywatch’s web app (also called Skywatch) provides real-time access to and visualization of astronomical/geospatial data culled from a wide variety of sources, including ground and space-based telescopes, drones, satellites and deep-space probes.

It's win and the resultant publicity attracted the attention of investors and enabled the group to form a company, which is now a part of the Communitech Hub, a Waterloo, ON based startup incubator with financial backing from Google, the C100 Group, the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE) and the Government of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence.

Of course, SkyWatch isn't the only bell weather in this area. Another sign of the ongoing fusion of the space and IT industries occurred just this past week.

Jeff Bezos. Photo c/o Guardian.

As outlined in the March 22nd, 2016 Bloomberg article, "Amazon Secret Robot Event Boasts VR, Ax Making, Wood Splitting," Amazon.com organized a secret, invite-only conference in Palm Springs, California last week.

The event, focused around machine-learning, automation, robotics and space exploration (MARS), featured attendees from robotics and AI companies (i.e. Rethink Robotics, Toyota) as well as academia (MIT, University of California at Berkeley and ETH Zurich).

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of space company Blue Origin, which launched its New Sheppard reusable rocket last December and earlier this month opened its factory to the media.

Elon Musk. Photo c/o Brainprick.

The intensifying cross-pollination of the space and IT industries can also be seen in SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s recent ventures with US-based tech incubator Y Combinator.

As outlined in the December 11th, 2015 BackChannel article, "How Elon Musk and Y Combinator Plan to Stop Computers From Taking Over," Musk and Y Combinator have jointly founded a new non-profit that will pursue artificial intelligence research and open source its data to the public. The space and IT industries, becoming increasingly intertwined, both stand to massively benefit.

Brian Orlotti.

After decades of wheel spinning, broken promises and doctrinal squabbling, the times they are a changin.’

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Brian Orlotti is a network operations centre analyst at Shomi, a Canadian provider of on-demand internet streaming media and a regular contributor to the Commercial Space blog.

Japanese Hitomi (ASTRO-H) Satellite Suffers Major Malfunction

          By Henry Stewart

March 27th JSpOC tweet. Screenshot c/o Twitter.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray astronomy satellite launched on February 17th, 2016, has suffered a major and perhaps fatal accident.

As outlined in the March 27th, 2016 JAXA press release, "Communication anomaly of X-ray Astronomy Satellite “Hitomi” (ASTRO-H)," contact with the satellite was initially lost on March 26th. 

On March 27th, the US Military Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) tweeted that the satellite had broken up into five pieces and dropped into a lower orbit in a pattern indicative of either an internal explosion or an external impact with space debris.

Later that same day, Space-Track.org, which  shares space situational awareness services and information with international satellite owners/operators, academia and others, confirmed the JSpOC tweets by releasing the chart below, which showed that the satellite had suddenly lost altitude on March 26th, about the same time as when JAXA lost contact.

The March 27th, 2016 National Geographic Phenomena blog post, "Japan Loses Contact With New Space Telescope," quoted astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as stating that "that some kind of “energetic event” has occurred—something more than a simple failure of communications."

Space-Track.org chart of Hitomi's sudden change in orbital altitude on March 26th along with twitter commentary from astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Graphic c/o National Geographic Phenomena. 

According to the article:

It’s not clear exactly what has happened on board Hitomi. Scientists are currently investigating the situation, and the Japanese space agency, JAXA, reports that it has gotten a trickle of a signal from the spacecraft. 

That means it’s possible the five pieces detected by radar are things like insulation, rather than large chunks of debris resulting from a catastrophic explosion; it’s also possible the spacecraft is tumbling, McDowell says, and that signals from Hitomi are periodically sweeping across the Earth.

As outlined in the March 28th, 2016 Christian Science Monitor post, "Japan has lost a recently launched space satellite. Where could it be?," this is the third in a series of space observatories that JAXA has tried and failed to operate.

In 2000, Hitomi’s first predecessor, the ASTRO-E space telescope, crashed at launch. Five years later, a series of cooling system malfunctions aboard the next iteration of the satellite, called Suzaku (ASTRO-EII), effectively shut down the X-ray spectrometer (XRS), which was the spacecraft's primary instrument

Hitomi was designed to detect X-rays spewing from supermassive black holes, dark matter, and other cosmic sources. It carried a Canadian built Astro-H Metrology System (CAMS), a laser alignment system used to measure the distortions in the extendable optical platform which the Hitomi satellite uses for image correction.

The CAMS system was built by the Ottawa based Neptec Design Group, in consultation with Canadian researchers.
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Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer. 

No Puppies Falling from the Heavens With Space Funding in this Federal Budget

          By Chuck Black

It's worth noting that puppies haven't begun falling from the heavens with new funding for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in the wake of last weeks Federal budget.

It's certainly not focused on growing  the "space class" as can be seen from the cover page of the 2016 Federal budget. For the full document along with the text of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget speech, which he delivered on Tuesday in the House of Commons, check out the March 22nd, 2016 National Post article, "Federal budget 2016: The full document." For Federal government literature on the budget, check out the Budget 2016 website. Screenshot c/o Government of Canada. 

That budget, the first under the new Liberal government headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, predicted large deficits over the next five years (beginning with $29.4Bln CDN in the first year), which will be used to finance a new tax-free monthly child benefit, more money for First Nations, infrastructure spending and extended employment insurance benefits to hard-hit regions.

But it didn't provide any real boost in Federal funding for space technology development or discuss any new attempt to create a "long term space plan."

As outlined in the October 13th, 2015 post on, "Part 2: Abandoning the Emerson Aerospace Review?," both of those campaign promises were made and promoted in the media, but evidently weren't taken terribly seriously by the Liberal party candidates who originated them in the last Federal election.

Overall CSA funding is an estimated $432Mln CDN in 2016, approximately $49Mln CDN more than 2015's projected budget of $383Mln CDN. That total is actually declining when the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is removed from the totals. As outlined in the January 12th, 2013 post "a $706Mln Fixed Price Contract and Hard Launch Date for RADARSAT Constellation," the RCM program should be pretty much wound down except for maintenance and support costs within the next two years.

And the "big announcement," that the government has committed up to $379Mln CDN over eight years (beginning in 2017), in order to maintain Canada's commitment to its International Space Station (ISS) partners, is something the government always knew it had to do in order to preserve slots for Canadian astronauts David Saint-Jacques and Jeremy Hansen to visit the ISS in 2019 and 2021. Of course, those travel commitments were made well before the current government took office.

The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) rather liked the Federal budget, at least if you take the March 22nd, 2016 press release, "AIAC applauds budget commitments to space, innovation, defence strategy" at face value. The press release applauds the $379Mln CDN the budget commits over the next eight years to extend Canada’s participation in the ISS to 2024. According to the press release, the budget "also reaffirmed last year’s commitment to provide $30 million over four years for Canadian participation in the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) program." However, the press release failed to mention $8.7Mln CDN which was set aside to to upgrade the anechoic chamber at the David Florida Laboratory test facility at Shirleys Bay, Ontario. As outlined in the expansively titled March 22nd, 2016 SpaceRef.ca post, "What You Need to Know About the Budget and Canada's Space Program," the funds will allow the CSA to "continue to support technology development in Canada's space sector through state-of-the-art assembly, integration and testing capabilities." Screenshot c/o AIAC.

Of course, some companies and institutions, although not likely firms focused around space activities, will absolutely benefit from the latest budget. As outlined in the March 25th, 2016 Motley Fool Canada post, "Get to Know 6 Companies Poised to Benefit From the Federal Budget," these firms are mostly focused around infrastructure, which is scheduled to receive $11.9Bln over five years. They include:

• Etobicoke, ON. based Aecon Group - Canada's largest public construction and infrastructure development company.

• Winnipeg, MB. based New Flyer Industries - The company manufactures transit buses and, with $3.4Bln CDN is tagged for transit spending. If new vehicles are part of the $3.4Bln tagged for transit spending in the budget, then New Flyer is very likely to get in on the action.

• Mississauga, ON. based Pure Technologies - The Motley Fool article considers this company, with its focus on pipeline managements technologies, as being well placed to receive a large chunk of the $5Bln allocated in the budget for new water and waste water management technologies.

• Montreal, PQ. based SNC-Lavalin - A "one stop shop when it comes to engineering and construction" according to the article. 

• Edmonton, AB. based Stantec - A professional services company wrapped around design, energy, environmental and infrastructure projects.

• Montreal, PQ based WSP Global/ Parsons Brinckerhoff Engineering Services - Once known as Genivar Inc., this firm is active in the professional-services side of the industry.

More money (around $800Mln CDN over four years) is budgeted for incubators and accelerators to help grow new ideas and start small businesses. According to the Canadian Association of Business Incubation (CABI) there are currently 60+ business incubators and accelerators across Canada with a broad range of expertise. That total is sure to grow with this new funding.

A further $2Bln over three years is allocated for a new post-secondary institutions Strategic Investment Fund. This initiative will support up to 50 per cent of the eligible costs of infrastructure projects at post-secondary institutions and affiliated research and commercialization organizations, in collaboration with provinces and territories.

Taken together, it's not too shabby. But its also not directly related to the Canadian space industry, although space companies might certainly take advantage of many of the programs.  

It's worth noting that the Prospectors and Developers Association (PDAC) also came down in favor of the Federal budget. As outlined in the March 22nd, 2016 PDAC post "PDAC welcomes measures to support Canada’s mineral exploration and development sector," the organization was particularly happy with the renewal of the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) and the expansion of deductions allowed under the Canadian Exploration Expense (CEE)." As outlined in the June 30th, 2012 submission to the Emerson Aerospace Review under the title, "Using Tools from the Mining Industry to Spur Innovation and Grow the Canadian Space Industry," many of the legislative tools and regulations which currently support our domestic mining industry could also be used to support our space industry. Graphic c/o PDAC.

Although not mentioned in the budget, it's expected that Montreal, PQ based Bombardier Inc. will receive substantial Federal funding over the next little while. As outlined in the February 21st, 2016 post on "Saving Bombardier," the giant Canadian company requires the new funds in order to remain solvent and (perhaps) protect Canadian jobs.

Also not mentioned in the budget was funding for the upcoming (at least officially) Polar Communications and Weather (PCW) mission. As outlined in the February 14th, 2014 post, "'Team Canada' Solution for PCW Mission Competing Against US Bid," PCW development (estimated to cost upwards of $600Mln CDN in total) was expected to begin this year.

So where does that leave our space industry? Pretty much where we expected it to be.

As outlined in the September 16th, 2015 post, "Meanwhile, Back in the Real World: Seasoned Entrepreneurs are Jockeying for Position in the Fast Growing NewSpace Economy," the government isn't really in a position to drive space exploration and is not currently funding any large projects, except for those related to previously announced international initiatives.

Those hoping that military programs will require the purchase of space based assets might also be in for a disappointment. As outlined in the March 27th, 2016 CBC News post, "Canada's defence budget heads back to the future," the new Liberal government seems set to follow along the same path of inactivity as did its predecessor. For more on the intersection of Canadian space and the military, check out the four part series on "Canada's Military Space Policy." Graphic c/o CBC.

Companies like Telesat, MacDonald Dettwiler, UrtheCast (a space company which has taken advantage of legislation originally designed to support the mining industry) and exactEarth now drive our domestic space agenda irrespective of what Ottawa might want or wish simply because they have the money to do things and not just talk.

So the Federal government has moved on to other, less specific tools which the space industry may or may not decide to use. Innovation, incubators, infrastructure and accelerators are now the order of the day.

However, if someone could find an infrastructure project which required the use of space based assets (for example, the original mandate of Telesat Canada to improve communications in the far north, which required the development and use of communications satellites), then there might still be opportunities for a savvy space company.

Chuck Black.

But the CSA itself has become far less trendy. There are no puppies falling from the heavens with space funding for new programs in this Federal budget.

All that's really left for us to do is to wish our space companies the best of luck. They're in the driver seat now.
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Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.