Canadian Space Agency: September 2009 Archives

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.

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.

A lunar or Martian rover appears to be among the priorities that will eventually be outlined in Canada's Long-Term Space Plan, a planning tool the Canadian Space Agency says it has been working to complete during the past year.

That information emerged from a series of CSA tenders - collectively worth at least $9.75 million - issued these past few weeks on Merx, a Canadian contracting system that mainly deals with federal procurement. One of the contracts had no dollar value attached to it.

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.

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.