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Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund of the Space Policy Institute in Washington discussed space policy and Canada's role as an international partner in space exploration at the 2012 Canadian Space Summit.

The following article is a free sample from the current issue of Space Quarterly Magazine. It is our hope that if you enjoy this article you will consider subscribing to the magazine.

While a recent agreement signed between Canada's and Japan's space agencies is an extension of previous work, a JAXA vice-president noted at the National Space Symposium that the two countries could collaborate on launch opportunities as a result of the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Less than two weeks after the official launch of the Aerospace Review on February 27th, Executive Director Scott Streiner, at the invitation of the Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA), travelled from Ottawa to Toronto yesterday for an informal meeting with members and guests at their bimonthly meeting.

The federal government announced today more details regarding the earlier announced review of aerospace policy and programs. Significant among them for the space sector is a change in name of the review itself. The review is now called the Review of Aerospace and Space Programs and Policies instead of the previous Review of Aerospace Policy and Programs.

At the First Canadian Aerospace Summit hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada in Ottawa yesterday a distinguished group of leaders was brought together for the Canadian Aerospace Leaders Panel moderated by Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Dr. Steve MacLean. The theme of the panel was "Does Canada need an aerospace industrial base?" The message from industry leaders was clear, for industry to be successful the government must play an important role, especially when it comes to helping industry with foreign markets. There are opportunities but there is also risk as the domestic market is small and can't sustain the industry on its own.

The following article first appeared in the first issue of our new magazine Space Quarterly on September 1, 2011. With the opening today of the First Canadian Aerospace Summit in Ottawa we thought it appropriate to publish this article online. The next issue of Space Quarterly will be published December 1. Subscribe to the digital or print edition for more in-depth coverage of the Canadian space systems sector.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Steve MacLean is in China to for exploratory meetings on future possible cooperation between the countries. Last week he visited the China National Space Administration (CNSA) where he met with CNSA Administrator Chen Qiufa. He also met Zheng Guoguang, Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration. After his visit to China MacLean will visit Russia to participate in the commemorative ceremony scheduled for April 12th on the 50th anniversary of humanities first flight into space by Russia's Yuri Gagarin. The visit to China comes at a time when US-China space relations are in flux as some members of congress, mostly republicans, oppose cooperation with China. According to Wade Huntley, a Senior Lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School there is an opportunity for Canada to be a facilitator between US-China space relations.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) this week released an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for a Cluster Pilot as part of their efforts to increase capacity building in their space science and technology segment. Funding for the AO is estimated at $2.25 million over three years for up to five cluster projects selected with a maximum of $450,000 per project.

The Harper Government released its 2011 budget today which all three opposition parties said they would not support in its current form leading to speculation the government will fall and trigger an election for either May 2nd or May 9th. However one key item in the budget, should it go forward, is a comprehensive review of aerospace policy and programs.