Marc Boucher: September 2009 Archives

Approximately 400 professional engineers and technical staff Located at MDRobotics in Brampton and at the David Florida Laboratories in Ottawa have been on strike since Friday according to SPAR Professional and Allied Technical Employee's Association (SPATEA).

Guy Laliberté the founder of Cirque du Soleil and the One Drop Foundation is to launch on the Russian Soyuz TMA-16 rocket on Wednesday, September 30th at 3:14 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan. Laliberté will become Canada's first private space explorer.

This photo was taken by Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk from the International Space Station and shows smoke plumes caused by controlled fires set in the mountains near Canmore, Alberta.

SpaceX has confirmed that the maiden launch of their Falcon 9 rocket is a go for sometime later this year and perhaps as early as November 29. The Falcon 9 launch was anticipated this year however what was not anticipated is that on its maiden voyage it would carry the Dragon spacecraft.

According to our companion site NASA Watch, where the news broke, the journal Science will publish three papers tomorrow from three independent spacecraft that confirm the Moon has an abundant supply of water. At the same time NASA will be holding a briefing 2 p.m. EDT to discuss the new findings.

A group of amateur rocketeers led by project manager Ken Baldwin launched their Black Brant 3 full scale rocket using a CTI O8000 engine at Sullivan Lake 16 kilometers south of Lethbridge, Alberta on Sunday, September 13th. The launch was in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the first Black Brant launch, a Canadian developed rocket, on September 5, 1959 from Fort Churchill Manitoba by the Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment (CARDE).

While our planet is experiences equinox twice a year, the fall autumnal equinox being today, Saturn experiences equinox twice every 29.7 Earth years. That is the time it takes the Saturn to do one orbit around the sun.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft was there to view this incredible show that has provided scientists an unprecedented view of this event last month.

NASA's MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, a key instrument on the Terra satellite, took this spectacular image of west central Canada on September 13th.

The top quarter of the image shows the Northwest Territories and Great Slave Lake. Below the Northwest Territories from left to right are the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. On the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan is Lake Athabasca.

Telesat saw its Nimiq 5 satellite launched today from pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Proton Breeze M rocket. Nimiq 5 is a commercial communications satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for Telesat. Nimiq 5 will utilize 32 high-powered Ku-band transponders to deliver high definition and direct-to-home television services for EchoStar and the Dish Network in the United States.

American flight engineer Nicole Stott using Canada's Canadarm2 on the International Space Station today captured the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The Japanese HTV is an unmanned spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and the rest of the International Space Station (ISS).

Dr. Nicole Buckley, Director of Life and Physical Sciences at the Canadian Space Agency, sees opportunities for the Canadian textile industry in space. Dr. Buckley will be presenting a paper entitled "A New niche for Canadian textiles - in space!" at the Expo Hightex in Montreal on October 8th. The focus would be on radiation protection and mitigation of the negative effects of spaceflight.

The Canadian Space Agency released two more requests for proposals (RFP's) today bringing the total to 10 RFP's released in the just over a week. The two new RFP's are for a Miniaturized Drill Prototype for Lunar Exploration and a Combined Active and Passive Vision System for Localisation, Navigation and Visual Servicing.

On Thursday between 3:50 - 3:55 p.m eastern time, assuming all goes well, Canada's Canadarm2 on the International Space Station will capture the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The Japanese HTV is an unmanned spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and the rest of the International Space Station (ISS). You can watch the event on the Canadian Space Agency web site or on NASA TV and later that evening look up and get a view of the space station.

The 2nd Halifax Meeting on Computational Astrophysics, the 18th Kingston Meeting will be held 16-18 (Friday - Sunday) October 2009 at Saint Mary's University (SMU), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Alberta Star Party is open to everyone - not just RASC members. We invite you and your family to attend the 23rd Annual Alberta Star Party. The star party is hosted by the Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and we feel that you will be impressed by the dark and transparent skies. This year, the party will run from September 18-20, 2009. The Moon is new, allowing for superb deep-sky observing.

- Starland Recreation Area Campground
- September 18-20, 2009

The Canadian Space Summit is an annual event hosted by the Canadian Space Society. The Summit is explicitly dedicated to helping the Canadian space industry and related special interest groups develop a wider understanding of the diverse space exploration and development projects that are being conducted across the country and to foster collaborative connections amongst the many companies and organizations involved.

Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-129, ISS assembly flight ULF3, is the next planned space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is targeted for a November 12, 2009 launch. The Canadian Space Agency-sponsored APEX-CAMBIUM science experiment will sent to the International Space Station.

The Second Workshop on Satellite Imaging of the Arctic will bring together scientists and remote sensing experts from countries with an interest in the Arctic region. They will discuss the full range of scientific and operational applications of high-latitude imagery data in the context of the Canadian Polar Communications and Weather (PCW) satellite mission, a concrete proposal for seamless imaging of the Arctic. Thereby, they will help to establish sound user requirements for the PCW system and explore options for international collaboration in development and operations of the system.

- September 14 - 15, 2009
- Canadian Space Agency Headquarters

The first of three images of ESO's GigaGalaxy Zoom project -- a new magnificent 800-million-pixel panorama of the entire sky as seen from ESO's observing sites in Chile -- has just been released online. The project allows stargazers to explore and experience the Universe as it is seen with the unaided eye from the darkest and best viewing locations in the world.

This composite image of the Hydra A galaxy cluster shows 10-million- degree gas observed by Chandra in blue and jets of radio emission observed by the Very Large Array in pink. Optical data from the Canada- France-Hawaii telescope and the Digitized Sky Survey shows galaxies in the cluster.

This past weekend Armadillo Aerospace assured itself a share of the level two Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NGLLC) Prize money by successfully doing two 180-second rocket powered flights within two hour and fifteen minute time period, as well as using a simulated lunar surface as a landing pad.

On his way up the mountain Parazynski managed to capture two GigaPan panoramas - stunningly huge images that are likely to be the highest images of their kind ever taken on the surface of the Earth.

NASA and industry engineers lit up the Utah sky Thursday with the initial full-scale, full-duration test firing of the first stage motor for the Ares I rocket. The Ares I is a crew launch vehicle in development for NASA's Constellation Program.

This image was taken by Lunar Orbiter III on 22 February 1967 at 5:24:14 GMT at an altitude of 54.27 km above the lunar surface. High resolution frame 3 clearly shows the Surveyor 1 spacecraft sitting on the lunar surface complete with a long shadow.

The Augustine Committee, in its summary report, stated, "commercial services to deliver crew to low-Earth orbit are within reach... [and] could provide an earlier capability at lower initial and lifecycle costs than government could achieve.

The U.S. human spaceflight program appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory. It is perpetuating the perilous practice of pursuing goals that do not match allocated resources.

Former astronauts Steve MacLean of the Canadian Space Agency and Charles Bolden of NASA, heads of their respective space agencies, signed a Framework Agreement in Washington today.

Women in Aerospace (WIA) is proud to announce the winners of its 24th Annual Women in Aerospace Awards. WIA will honor seven outstanding women for their contributions to the advancement of women in the aerospace industry at a reception and dinner to be held on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Astrium announce a contract for a SpaceX Falcon 1e to launch an Earth observation satellite designed by Astrium or its recently acquired subsidiary Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL).

NASA has identified the spot where it will search for water on the moon. Reporters are invited to attend the announcement of the target location where the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and its spent Centaur rocket will hit in October.

A campaign for Mars exploration with coordinated components of supporting technology development, human research, demonstrations on ISS, Mars robotic missions, human preparatory missions with enabling commercial and international collaboration...

Students of the ISU have for the first time successfully conducted an experiment of their making on the International Space Station. Robert Thirsk, a CSA astronaut currently resident on the ISS, played an integral part in the experiment.

I haven't driven a car in three months, and yet I've traveled 70 million kilometers. I've watched 16 sunrises and sunsets in a single day. I've sipped coffee out of a bag through a straw, and squeezed macaroni and cheese from a package into my mouth. I've conducted many scientific and medical experiments. I've welcomed extraterrestrial friends to my home and bid them farewell. I've helped repair a toilet, as well as a carbon dioxide scrubber, and an oxygen generator.