Canadian Space Commerce Association – An Industry Group to Promote and Support Canadian Businesses

Dear Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA) members and associates:

Our next meeting is this Thursday, May 10. The meeting will begin at 7:30 PM with a discussion of CSCA business. The main presentation will begin by 8 PM, the topic is “Financing Space Business” and will be presented by Michael Hollinger of law firm Heenan Blaikie.

Please note that the meeting this time is at Heenan Blaikie law offices (333 Bay, Bay Adelaide Centre, Toronto ) and NOT our regular venue (Blakes law offices).

As usual, please email us (meetings@spacecommerce.ca) to book your place.

Federal Government Aerospace Review

After the main presentation on Financing Space Business and related discussion on the topic, there will be a special discussion related to the Federal Government’s “Review of Aerospace and Space Programs and Policies” (see www.aerospacereview.ca). I would urge you to learn about the Review and take note that anyone — this means you! — can make a submission on their own.

As President of the CSCA, I was invited to be a member of the Space Working Group, the main body that is reviewing the space industry for the Review. For this I am soliciting your input:

1. We would like to hear recommendations for what issues you wish to have brought up for discussion at the Review’s Space Working Group (and potential inclusion in their final report).
2. The CSCA is preparing its own submission to the Review. We would like your ideas for what should be included in our own report. The May 10th meeting will be an opportunity to present and discuss your suggestions for that  submission. You can also contact me (or other CSCA board members) personally about this at our emails listed on our website spacecommerce.ca .

Note that all the review submissions will have to be completed very soon, before the end of June, so this is the time to have your say. We look forward to hearing from you.

Arny Sokoloff
President, Canadian Space Commerce Association
www.spacecommerce.ca
arny.sokoloff@spacecommerce.ca

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Mike Hollinger

Our next CSCA meeting is Thursday,  May 10th, 2012 at the law offices of Heenan Blaickie LLP,on the 29th floor of the Bay Adelaide Centre, 333 Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario.

For more information, check out our bimonthly meeting page.

Chuck Black/ 416-569-7697

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The CSCA wishes to thank all the speakers, participants and contributors to the just concluded Canadian Space Commerce Association national conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 28th.

The final conference program is now available online here and more items will come available over the next little while.

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The CSCA has issued a press release reminding everyone that there is Only One Week Left to Register for for 2012 Canadian Space Commerce Association National Conference being held at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on March 28th, 2012.

We look forward to seeing you  there.

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Our next CSCA meeting is Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at the law offices of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, 199 Bay Street, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, Ontario, M5L 1A9.

Our speaker is Scott Streiner, the Executive Director of the Aerospace Review being chaired by former Cabinet Minister David Emerson. Mr Streiner will be giving a casual talk on the mechanics of the review and how to effectively contribute to this important discussion.

The meeting will begin at 7;30 pm. If you’d  like to participate, please RSVP the meeting chair at meetings@spacecommerce.ca before the end of business on Wednesday, March 7th. For more information  on the Aerospace Review, check out aerospacereview.ca. For more information on our CSCA meetings, please go to the bimonthly meetings page.

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A full speaker list for the 2012 Canadian Space Commerce Association National Conference, a full day series of sessions being held on Wednesday, March 28th at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa has  has now been posted on the CSCA website at http://spacecommerce.ca/events/2012-csca-conference-and-agm.

They include:

• Aerospace Industries Association of Canada VP Maryse Harvey and/or CEO Jim Quick will speak on the topic of the upcoming Canadian government aerospace review and how Canadian space systems companies can have their voices included within the final report.

• Arjae Spectral Enterprises Dr. Arsen Hajian will discuss “The Sensei Spectrometer: Total Throughput Spectroscopy” and demonstrate how a small, but innovative Canadian firms can revolutionize the market and create Canadian jobs.

• Blakes Law Firm Partner Cliff Sosnow, the chair of the international trade and investment Group, along with Associate David Peaker will discuss “Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act: What Canadian space companies need to know when doing business in foreign markets.”

• 2012 Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute President (and ComDev InternationalVP of Government Relations) Ron Holdway will look back upon the government vision that first took Canada into space, explain the strategic role that space infrastructure plays in the delivery of public policy and review how space touches the daily lives of every Canadian.

• Canadian Air and Space Museum Director (and Apogee Books owner) Robert Godwin will discuss how our critical Canadian space infrastructure also requires a knowledge of what has gone before, the appropriate background education and a sense of history.

• Canadian Satellite and Design Challenge (CSDC) Director Larry Reeves will provide an update on the progress of the university teams involved with the CSDC.

• Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Head of Research & Analysis, Policy and External Relations Joan Harvey will present “the Status of the Canadian Space Sector,” a talk based on the the annual CSA status report and draw comparisons to other countries plus ask “provocative questions” about the measures that industry and government should be taking to help incubate and grow Canadian firms.

• Canadian Space Society President Kevin Shortt will discuss job opportunities for space science and engineering graduates in the Canadian space systems industry.

• Commercial SpaceFlight Federation Executive Director Alex Saltmann will present on “Newspace” and some of the things being done to encourage the growth of small space focused firms in the US.

• Heenan Blaikie Law Firm Partner Michael Woods will speak on the topic of “Export Compliance – Canadian Business in a Changing Landscape.“

• International Astronautical Federation Executive Director Dr. Christian Feichtinger will discuss initiatives coming out of the European Space Agency (ESA) to build out aerospace infrastructure, develop original space focused entrepreneurs and how some of the lessons learned might be directly applicable for Canada.

• NSERC/ MDA/ CSA Industrial Research Chair in Planetary Geology at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Gordon Osinski will give a presentation on Canadian government scientific grants and some expected (and helpful) upcoming changes.

• UrtheCast President Scott Larson will tell people about how his Canadian company is launching the world’s first HD video platform of planet Earth via two cameras mounted to the International Space Station (ISS).

The event will also include:

• A late afternoon panel discussion on “Our Critical Canadian Space Infrastructure” – Acknowledged industry and government experts outlining the current situation, defining the specific problems that makes this a crisis and offering useful and innovative solutions.

• Start-Up LiftOff – Speakers for start-up commercial space ventures will make a high energy five minute presentation focused on their organization in a format modeled after the O’Reilly’s Ignite Talks under the motto “Enlighten Us, But Make It Quick!”

For more information, please go to our 2012 CSCA National Conference page.

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Speakers for our 2012 National Conference are beginning to line up nicely and currently include:

• Commercial SpaceFlight Federation Executive Director Alex Saltmann
• Aerospace Industries Association of Canada VP Maryse Harvey and/or CEO Jim Quick
• International Astronautical Federation Executive Director Dr. Christian Feichtinger
• ComDev International VP of Government Relations (and 2012 Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute President) Ron Holdway
• UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory  Project Manager Grant Bonin
• Canadian Space Society President Kevin Shortt
• NSERC/ MDA/ CSA Industrial Research Chair in Planetary Geology at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Gordon Osinski
• Apogee Books owner (and Canadian Air and Space Museum Director) Robert Godwin
• UrtheCast President Scott Larson
• Canadian Satellite and Design ChallengeDirector Larry Reeves.

For more information, please go to our 2012 CSCA National Conference page.

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Our next CSCA meeting is Thursday, March 8th, 2012. The CSCA holds meetings in Toronto on the second Thursday of every other month, at the law offices of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, 199 Bay Street, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, Ontario, M5L 1A9.

If you’d  like to participate, please RSVP the meeting chair at meetings@spacecommerce.ca. For more information, please go to the bimonthly meetings page.

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Our next CSCA meeting is Thursday, January 12th, 2012.  Our guest speaker will be Kevin Stolarick, PhD, the Research Director for the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. Professor Stolarick will be discussing the the role of sub-national factors (such as location, place and city-regions) in global economic prosperity and how this relates to the Canadian space systems industry and the larger aerospace industry.

The CSCA holds meetings in Toronto on the second Thursday of every other month, at the law offices of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, 199 Bay Street, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, Ontario, M5L 1A9.

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Our next CSCA event is being held in conjunction with the Canadian Space Summit in Calgary, Alberta on November 23rd – 25th.

CSCA Director Farnaz Ghadaki is chairing the November 23rd commerce and commercialization sessions and has lined up an informative and topical series of speakers including Nathan Armstrong, the advisor for advanced manufacturing with the Alberta Space Program and president of Motive Industries; Chris Gainor, Canadian space historian and author of Arrows to the Moon: Avro’s Engineers and the Space Race; Nicole Geske, the operations manager at Lethbridge based data centre services provider BlackBridge Networks; Chuck Black, CSCA treasurer and writer/editor of the Commercial Space Blog; Jan Christopher Arp with Euroconsult North America; Jonathan Beland with Futron Corporation; and Natasha Rhodes, a travel advisor and “accredited space travel agent” for Virgin Galactic at the Vision 2000 Travel Group, who will be speaking in conjunction with Stephen Attenborough, the commercial director for suborbital spacecraft providers Virgin Galactic.

For more information on this event, please go to the Canadian Space Society website.

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