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Europe and Canada Partners in Space
Europe and Canada Partners in Space
Europe and Canada Partners in Space
June 2000
Published by:
ESA Publications Division
ESTEC, PO Box 299,
2200 AG Noordwijk,
The Netherlands
Editors:
Gilles Leclerc & Bruce Battrick
Graphics:
Willem Versteeg
Illustrations:
Industry Canada/Communications Research Centre
Institut national d'optique
Kinetic Sciences Inc.
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
Canadian Embassy, Paris/Jean-Bernard Poree
Copyright:
© 2000 European Space Agency
ISBN No.: 92-9092-623-6
BR-160
June 2000
programmes also cross political boundaries, as essential The nations of Europe, like Canada and
knowledge gained from space-based Earth observation helps other space-faring nations, see
Ariane-5
humanity deal with global environmental challenges, and unlimited potential for future growth of
global satellite-based services such as multimedia the knowledge-based economy through space ventures. In
communications and navigation enter our daily lives. Europe, ESA has created a European space programme
with great depth and capability beyond the reach of
The Canadian and European space programmes provide an individual Member States, from launch to orbital
outstanding model for this international cooperation, proving facilities, to deep-space probes. It has 15
that the whole can indeed be much greater than the sum Member States (including Canada, as a
of its parts. Since 1978, a far-reaching Cooperating State), a budget equivalent to
Rosetta
cooperation agreement has brought C$ 5.7 billion and some 1700 employees (1999
significant benefits to both sides of the figures). Canada’s cooperating membership
Atlantic, including the development of key brings additional financial resources and advanced
technologies for both space programmes, technological capabilities to European programmes,
the creation of alliances between space while Europe provides partners with capabilities that are
companies, and greater returns on the essential to fulfilling Canadian Space Programme goals.
investments. As a further 10-year
agreement between the Government of Canada’s geographic and demographic imperatives (surface
The 1978 Agreement
Canada and the European Space Agency area triple that of all ESA Member States combined, and
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1/12 th of the population), make it relationship with ESA. Other aspects of Europe–Canada
one of the World’s largest users of cooperation in space include a science and technology
space systems and services, for such cooperation agreement between the European Union (EU)
applications as communications, and Canada under which Canadian companies and
search and rescue, navigation, organizations partner with Europeans and participate in the
resource management, surveillance EU’s Research and Technology Development Framework
and environmental monitoring to Programme. There are also numerous bilateral cooperation
name just a few. Canada was the projects between some of the ESA Member States and Canada
Alouette-I
third nation after Russia and the USA in space science and technology development.
to enter the space age, with the 1962 launch of Alouette-I.
Today, it maintains an active astronaut office, as well as long- Europe and Canada are
standing activities in space science (notably in atmospheric partners, along with the
research, astronomy, space environment, microgravity and USA, Japan and Russia, in
space medicine) and space technology the International Space
research and development. Canada’s Station (ISS) project. The ISS,
national investment ranks seventh the largest-ever cooperative
among space-faring nations, and venture in science and
Canada’s space industry earned $ 1.4 technology, is the next
billion in revenues in 1999, of which great step in establishing a
over 40% was from exports. human presence in space. International Space Station (ISS)
3
hile many aspects of satellite
4
advanced transmission techniques, including the V-, Ka- and
Ku-bands, provide greater capacity to handle the vast amounts
of data required for multimedia applications.
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he view of Earth from space may not show environmental concerns, matches
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Radarsat-1 ERS-1
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the stream of radar images is
unaffected.
8
From deep space to cold oceans to forest fires Saskatchewan. SED Systems, which has been providing
Space technologies are advancing rapidly, though TT&C systems for nearly 20 years, is building on its
the process is not easy. It requires investigation of core technologies to meet the challenge of
promising concepts, and investment to bring them to communicating reliably with a spacecraft that will
the point where they can be effectively evaluated. travel up to 900 million kilometres from Earth (a
Not all ideas succeed and so there is considerable distance that signals take 100 minutes to travel at
financial risk attached. Cooperation between Canada the speed of light). This antenna will also be used for
and Europe helps to share that risk, and pool future missions to Mars.
resources to achieve the
maximum possible progress. Adapting space technologies for harsh terrestrial
A few examples of this environments
cooperation follow. Technologies developed for operations in the unforgiving
environment of space can have valuable applications in harsh
Tracking Rosetta through deep aa environments on Earth. In Newfoundland, C-CORE, an
space independently funded engineering research and development
ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft will be corporation affiliated with Memorial University, adapts space
launched in 2003 on a 10-year mission technologies such as smart robotics and sensors, advanced
to study Comet Wirtanen and two materials, satellite-based remote sensing, advanced
asteroids. Throughout its mission, its communications, and control and power systems for use in
Telemetry, Tracking & Control (TT&C) harsh environments. These environments, such as cold oceans,
will depend on the performance of a Arctic, Antarctic, underground and undersea locations, are of
35-metre antenna built by an industrial growing interest to resource industries, but present great
Rosetta
team led by SED Systems of Saskatoon, challenges to operations.
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This unprecedented initiative is which aims to design, implement
attracting significant matching and test an innovative approach
funds from the private sector. C- to telerobotics for interventions in
CORE is building on a successful harsh environments. The focus
launch of the Harsh Environments application for the development
Initiative, which involved 14 is the supervisory control of
European and 33 Canadian multiple mining robots. This project includes R&D in the areas
companies in eight demonstration of interactive 3D sensing, enhanced perception, intelligent
projects. For example, PetroGraFx is mediation, and intelligent control.
a collaboration with Hibernia
Management and Development Fighting forest fires with help from space
Company Ltd. (HMDC) to develop a In managing emergency situations, for example the fighting of
software tool to carry out automated analysis and database forest fires in British Columbia, real-time communications are
management of core and thin-section images. These images crucial to connect command centres with the entire operation
are collected from core samples taken during exploration and over the affected region, including helicopters, vehicles, heavy
drilling. The tool will allow the accurate analysis of fire-fighting equipment, and handheld terminals.
petrographic images in terms of important visual
characteristics, such as porosity, mineral content, and shape ESA’s REMSAT (REal-time Management of emergency situations
and size distributions. Another project, SMART (Sensori-Motor via SATellite) programme bridges the gap between satellite
Augmented Reality for Telerobotics), is an IRIS/PRECARN project service providers and emergency management end-users, to
offer a powerful network that brings together telecom-
Augmented Reality Telerobotic Control Concept
munications, positioning, and Earth observation.
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REMSAT can access a variety of satellite systems currently
available. During the 19-day fire simulation, positioning
functions were provided by GPS, messaging by the Orbcomm
satellite system, and low/high-data-rate voice and video
services by the Canadian satellite system Anik. This included
high-speed communications for fire-fighting crews, augmented
data and video images, and up-to-date position and status
information for all resources (including aircraft, heavy
equipment and fire crews). It supported fire attack planning,
REMSAT in action in British Columbia
while providing high-speed communication between mobile
fire-control centres and additional background information to
help in fire modelling, prediction and suppression.
Arrangements are under way for the system to be fully tested
through deployment to fight a major fire.
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While Canada and the countries of Europe share a conviction programmes have led to numerous
that space offers unlimited prospects for the future, they other commercial opportunities for
recognize the fundamental need to spread risk and financial Canadian industry. Canadian
burdens as widely as possible, to obtain the involvement in ESA projects has
maximum leverage for their investments in helped Canadian space projects such
space. Also, since diverse expertise and as Radarsat and the Anik series of
experience is required for success in space communications satellites.
programmes, international cooperation allows Anik-D
each party to focus on developing specialities in The European partners were also convinced that cooperation
areas of greatest interest. with Canada had brought similar benefits to Europe. Canada’s
worldwide lead in certain technologies has also been of
Space-derived fingerprint reader
(Kinetic Services Inc.) Experience suggests that the cooperation benefit to ESA, to which Canadian industry brings a strong
between Canada and Europe has been beneficial to both technology base. Also, when working as partners in ESA
sides, and studies have borne this out. In 1996, CSA com- programmes, Canadian and European companies have
missioned a complete external evaluation of learned much about their respective management practices
Canada’s cooperation with ESA since 1978, and business cultures, and have developed numerous close
which showed that Canada’s objectives for commercial partnerships.
this relationship have been achieved.
Canadian investments in ESA have resulted In summary, Canada and Europe have similar objectives for
in significant direct contracts to Canadian international cooperation: to diversify and reinforce their roles
companies and follow-on spin-off sales, in space, and to foster closer collaboration in science and
promoting the development of the industry technology research. They seek to develop and demonstrate
as a whole. Corporate alliances for the ESA advanced systems and technologies by participating in large
Flameproof textiles from Ariane, in Toronto’s Skydome
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space projects on a cost-sharing basis, and to support the
competitiveness of their space industries through alliances and
two-way technology transfers between Europe and Canada.
ESA and CSA mission objectives are almost identical. Both have
a mission to promote the development of space science and
technology for exclusively peaceful purposes. Both agencies
seek to promote the competitiveness and success of their
industries through technology development programmes and
innovative and flexible funding mechanisms. Cooperation has
brought substantial socio-economic benefits on both sides of
the Atlantic, and strengthened the bonds between Canada
and Europe in critical areas of science and technology.
Increasingly, this inter-agency cooperation is now
complemented by strong commercial partnerships between
Canadian and European space companies.
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Vancouver B.C., from ERS
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