Cuts threaten Canada's satellite eye on the Arctic
A majority of Canadians see Arctic sovereignty as the country's top foreign-policy priority, according to a recent poll by Ekos Research for the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
Yet, Canada's ability to effectively monitor and manage its interests in the Arctic appears to be in jeopardy in the face of funding cuts by the federal government and conflicting spending priorities at the Canadian Space Agency.
The project in question is the Radar-sat Constellation Mission, a set of three Earth observation satellites, originally intended for launch into space in 2014 and 2015. The purpose of the radar-based satellites, as out-lined by the federal government when it launched the program in 2005, is to support Canadian sovereignty and security through coastal surveillance by satellite in all weather conditions. In particular, the satellites would be able to detect activity in the Far North and in Canada's coastal waters. If a satellite spotted an anomaly, a vessel or plane could then be dispatched to the area.
The project offers a comprehensive and cost-efficient way to monitor virtually everything going on in the Arc-tic, and many other areas besides. With it, Canada could monitor ice for navigation in the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes and in coastal waters - particularly in the rapidly expanding Northwest Passage. We could also support disaster management, including detecting oil spills and forest fires, monitoring floods and providing information on the evolution of disaster areas.
Currently Canada's ability to view the North is handled by the Radar-sat-2 satellite which was never intended to provide either the volume or timeliness of data the Canadian government now needs as it manages sovereignty issues and keeps track of environmental impacts in the North. The new Radarsat Constellation Mission could readily handle all of these duties and more at a total cost of about $600 million. Just last August, Prime Minister Stephen Harper committed $397 million in new funding to this program over the next five years, saying, "The Radarsat project has consistently allowed us to defend our Arctic sovereignty, protect the Arctic ecosystem, and develop our resources. This new phase of Radarsat will ensure we stay at the forefront of these priorities." He added, "This cutting-edge project will create highly skilled jobs, and attract the world's best scientists, technicians and engineers to Canada's world-renowned space industry."
So why now risk a project that Canadians want, that aligns with the priorities of the Conservative government and that has been progressing nicely?
First, I should note that the Canadian Space Agency has not officially confirmed or denied that the project is being cancelled. The agency did, however, see its budget trimmed by another $33 million over the next two years as part of recently announced federal budget cuts, after already sustaining a 16-per-cent cut in the months leading up to the budget. In total, the CSA has been hit with cuts of about $150 million, or 33 per cent, of its total budget between fiscal 2011/12 and 2013/14. Last week, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a key manufacturing partner in the Radarsat Constellation Mission pro-gram, announced that it believes the federal budget does not provide sufficient funding to continue the project as currently envisioned. MDA's CEO Dan Friedmann said that the design phase of the project is already winding down and, with no firm commitment from the government to go to the build phase, MDA cannot sustain payroll for the highly specialized engineers and scientists required to complete the project.
Interestingly, the Canadian Space Agency itself seems to be facing no similar downsizing. Staffing at the agency has nearly doubled from 400 full-time equivalent positions in 2002 to over 700 positions in 2012. It is the hard investments in satellites, space robotics and other programs that seem to be most expendable.
Canada's reluctance to keep an eye in the sky on its Arctic interests is not matched by governments in other countries. Italy and Germany have already launched satellites with some capability of observing Canada's Far North. In fact, Canada recently gave Germany permission to establish its own satellite ground station in Inuvik! In addition, many believe that if Canada fails to complete the Radar-sat Constellation Mission project in a timely manner, the U.S. and perhaps others will move quickly to launch Arctic surveillance satellites rather than piggyback on the RCM project.
Soon many key countries will have eyes on our Arctic. Canada may not be one of them. By the time our bureaucrats figure it out, the Canadian radar and satellite specialists who could have made it happen here at home, will have left to work for the countries that are committed to making it hap-pen today.
Dr. John MacDonald is chairman of Day4 Energy Inc., a solar energy technology company, and a co-founder of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Canada's principal space company.
http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...llite+Arctic/6508131/story.html#ixzz1uZ7Gity9
A majority of Canadians see Arctic sovereignty as the country's top foreign-policy priority, according to a recent poll by Ekos Research for the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
Yet, Canada's ability to effectively monitor and manage its interests in the Arctic appears to be in jeopardy in the face of funding cuts by the federal government and conflicting spending priorities at the Canadian Space Agency.
The project in question is the Radar-sat Constellation Mission, a set of three Earth observation satellites, originally intended for launch into space in 2014 and 2015. The purpose of the radar-based satellites, as out-lined by the federal government when it launched the program in 2005, is to support Canadian sovereignty and security through coastal surveillance by satellite in all weather conditions. In particular, the satellites would be able to detect activity in the Far North and in Canada's coastal waters. If a satellite spotted an anomaly, a vessel or plane could then be dispatched to the area.
The project offers a comprehensive and cost-efficient way to monitor virtually everything going on in the Arc-tic, and many other areas besides. With it, Canada could monitor ice for navigation in the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes and in coastal waters - particularly in the rapidly expanding Northwest Passage. We could also support disaster management, including detecting oil spills and forest fires, monitoring floods and providing information on the evolution of disaster areas.
Currently Canada's ability to view the North is handled by the Radar-sat-2 satellite which was never intended to provide either the volume or timeliness of data the Canadian government now needs as it manages sovereignty issues and keeps track of environmental impacts in the North. The new Radarsat Constellation Mission could readily handle all of these duties and more at a total cost of about $600 million. Just last August, Prime Minister Stephen Harper committed $397 million in new funding to this program over the next five years, saying, "The Radarsat project has consistently allowed us to defend our Arctic sovereignty, protect the Arctic ecosystem, and develop our resources. This new phase of Radarsat will ensure we stay at the forefront of these priorities." He added, "This cutting-edge project will create highly skilled jobs, and attract the world's best scientists, technicians and engineers to Canada's world-renowned space industry."
So why now risk a project that Canadians want, that aligns with the priorities of the Conservative government and that has been progressing nicely?
First, I should note that the Canadian Space Agency has not officially confirmed or denied that the project is being cancelled. The agency did, however, see its budget trimmed by another $33 million over the next two years as part of recently announced federal budget cuts, after already sustaining a 16-per-cent cut in the months leading up to the budget. In total, the CSA has been hit with cuts of about $150 million, or 33 per cent, of its total budget between fiscal 2011/12 and 2013/14. Last week, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a key manufacturing partner in the Radarsat Constellation Mission pro-gram, announced that it believes the federal budget does not provide sufficient funding to continue the project as currently envisioned. MDA's CEO Dan Friedmann said that the design phase of the project is already winding down and, with no firm commitment from the government to go to the build phase, MDA cannot sustain payroll for the highly specialized engineers and scientists required to complete the project.
Interestingly, the Canadian Space Agency itself seems to be facing no similar downsizing. Staffing at the agency has nearly doubled from 400 full-time equivalent positions in 2002 to over 700 positions in 2012. It is the hard investments in satellites, space robotics and other programs that seem to be most expendable.
Canada's reluctance to keep an eye in the sky on its Arctic interests is not matched by governments in other countries. Italy and Germany have already launched satellites with some capability of observing Canada's Far North. In fact, Canada recently gave Germany permission to establish its own satellite ground station in Inuvik! In addition, many believe that if Canada fails to complete the Radar-sat Constellation Mission project in a timely manner, the U.S. and perhaps others will move quickly to launch Arctic surveillance satellites rather than piggyback on the RCM project.
Soon many key countries will have eyes on our Arctic. Canada may not be one of them. By the time our bureaucrats figure it out, the Canadian radar and satellite specialists who could have made it happen here at home, will have left to work for the countries that are committed to making it hap-pen today.
Dr. John MacDonald is chairman of Day4 Energy Inc., a solar energy technology company, and a co-founder of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Canada's principal space company.
http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...llite+Arctic/6508131/story.html#ixzz1uZ7Gity9
