BR-160

June 2000

Europe and Canada

Partners in Space
Text:
Mark Burbidge & Jason Clement, CSA

Published by:
ESA Publications Division
ESTEC, PO Box 299,
2200 AG Noordwijk,
The Netherlands

Editors:
Gilles Leclerc & Bruce Battrick

Design & Layout:

Carel Haakman

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

Europe and Canada

Partners in Space

European Space Agency Canadian Space Agency

 n the 21st Century, space has become a truly international
I venture. No single country can absorb the full risk of
developing new technologies for this most demanding
environment. Moreover, many of the benefits of space
programmes also cross political boundaries, as essential
knowledge gained from space-based Earth observation helps
humanity deal with global environmental challenges, and
global satellite-based services such as multimedia
communications and navigation enter our daily lives.
The Canadian and European space programmes provide an
outstanding model for this international cooperation, proving
that the whole can indeed be much greater than the sum
of its parts. Since 1978, a far-reaching
Rosetta
cooperation agreement has brought
significant benefits to both sides of the
Atlantic, including the development of key
technologies for both space programmes,
the creation of alliances between space
companies, and greater returns on the
investments. As a further 10-year
agreement between the Government of
The 1978 Agreement
Canada and the European Space Agency
2
(ESA) comes into effect in 2000, this
cooperation promises to reach new
heights.
The nations of Europe, like Canada and
other space-faring nations, see
Ariane-5
unlimited potential for future growth of
the knowledge-based economy through space ventures. In
Europe, ESA has created a European space programme
with great depth and capability beyond the reach of
individual Member States, from launch to orbital
facilities, to deep-space probes. It has 15
Member States (including Canada, as a
Cooperating State), a budget equivalent to
C$ 5.7 billion and some 1700 employees (1999
figures). Canada’s cooperating membership
brings additional financial resources and advanced
technological capabilities to European programmes,
while Europe provides partners with capabilities that are
essential to fulfilling Canadian Space Programme goals.
Canada’s geographic and demographic imperatives (surface
area triple that of all ESA Member States combined, and
 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)

ESA’s primary contribution is the Columbus laboratory, while

Canada and the Canadian space Canada is drawing upon its expertise in space robotics to
industry have actively participated in supply the Space Station’s Mobile Servicing System (MSS). The
many ESA programmes, especially MSS will be used to assemble and maintain the ISS over the
in satellite communications, Earth course of its lifetime in orbit.
observation, and generic space-
technology development. Canada
participates directly in ESA programmes,
activities and decision-making, and
Canadian companies bid for and
receive contracts on the same basis as
their European counterparts. No other
non-European country has such a
Olympus at the David Florida Laboratory ISS Columbus laboratory ISS Mobile Servicing System

3
 hile many aspects of satellite

W communications have become fully

commercial, space agencies have a
vital role in developing new capabilities and
applications. In this role, CSA and ESA are co-
operating to achieve the greatest results from their
respective investments. Meanwhile, Canadian and
European satellite communications companies have
developed important partnerships in many areas.

Cooperation between Canada and Europe in this

field dates back to the early 1970s, when ESA’s fore-
runner, the European Space Research Organisation
(ESRO), provided critical elements for Canada’s
Hermes-CTS satellite. This satellite, the first to operate in the Ku-
band, opened the way to a variety of direct-broadcasting
applications. Canada’s David Florida Laboratory (DFL),
established in 1972 to integrate and test the Hermes satellite,
is now active in international space markets as a commercial
spacecraft testing service.
The Olympus programme was initiated by ESA in 1978,
building on CTS/Hermes and Canada’s Anik-B. Canada was the
Hermes-CTS
third largest participant, with involvement in the solar array,
assembly integration and testing, payload amplifiers and
microwave components. Final assembly and testing was
performed at DFL.
In the 21st Century, Canada and Europe are working together
to develop a range of key satellite-communications
technologies. For example, more efficient on-board antenna
systems will make satellites more energy-efficient. Digital and

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.

Inter-satellite links are another important field of cooperation

between Canada and Europe. In this field, the Institut national
d’optique (INO) of Quebec City is working under a series of
contracts from ESA to develop optical communications for
high-speed data transfer between
geostationary satellites, which
could provide an alternative to
terrestrial fibre-optic systems. INO
has developed a transmitter for
short-distance inter-satellite optical
communications and a power
fibre amplifier capable of
operating in space. Galileo will be an open, global system.
Based on Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
Galileo is Europe’s proposed global navigation satellite system. satellites, it will be developed as a
This civilian system will be compatible with existing public–private partnership, with funding
American (GPS) and Russian (GLONASS) military-based from the EU and ESA. Canada is
systems, which have begun a revolution in participating in the definition of the ESA-led
navigation practices around the World. space segment of Galileo called ‘GalileoSat’.
As a fully civilian system, backed by Canadian companies like EMS Technologies,
adequate service guarantees and a COMDEV and CAE are currently involved in
legal framework to support the full the definition phase, and NovAtel of
range of civilian uses, Galileo will open Calgary is working with RACAL of the UK on
wider possibilities for using satellite the European Geostationary Navigation
navigation. It will direct air and sea Overlay Service (EGNOS).
movements, cut traffic congestion by routing cars
and trucks more efficiently, and find many other applications in
farming, fishing, crime prevention, infrastructure planning,
mineral exploration and land surveying. GalileoSat

5
 he view of Earth from space may not show
T political boundaries, but other information
vital to human existence comes clearly into
focus: from crop conditions to the spread of oil
spills, from iceberg movements to ground
subsidence. Earth-observation satellites have also
become indispensable in monitoring crucial
changes in the Earth’s environment and climate.
In Earth observation, Canada and Europe have
worked together for decades to advance the state
of the art, particularly in the development of radar
satellites and the commercial application of satellite
data to meet a wide range of human needs.
Earth observation has been a focal point for the
Canadian Space Programme from the very
beginning. The concept of a Synthetic Aperture
Radar (SAR) was developed in Canada, with the
first digital SAR image from space being produced
in 1978. Canada brought this experience into
ESA’s European Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS)
programme. The ERS mission, which focuses on
6
environmental concerns, matches
Canada’s interest in using remote-
sensing activities to monitor and
protect our global environment
and climate. For example, it has
provided close monitoring of the
El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific
Ocean, which affects weather around the
globe. It has been particularly active in the
development of the ground segment and
microwave hardware.
The SAR technology developed and acquired
in this programme, and the experience
gained in the reception, processing and use of
ERS-1 and ERS-2 data, in turn, facilitated the
development and operation of Radarsat-1.
Radarsat-1, developed and operated by the
Canadian Space Agency, is Canada’s first Earth-
observation satellite and the World’s first
operational commercial SAR system. Launched in
November 1995, it provides all-weather, day-and-
Radarsat-1
night imagery for very fast
delivery to customers
around the World. Radarsat-
1 can acquire images in
variable modes of ground
resolution, coverage swaths,
and incident radar-beam
angles. Different beam selections allow for the imaging of a
swath from 35 to 500 kilometres, with resolutions from 10 to
100 metres, respectively. Incidence angles range from less than
20 degrees to more than 50 degrees.
Radarsat-1's capabilities are fully proven in vital applications
such as ice tracking, cartography (including the first complete
map of Antarctica), geological exploration, maritime
surveillance, disaster relief, agriculture and forest monitoring,
etc. Radarsat-1 is the primary source of images for a
Canadian remote-sensing industry that has won some
12% of the global market for Earth-observation data.
Canada is now preparing a follow-on satellite,
Radarsat-2, a state-of-the art space venture involving
the public and private sectors. A Canadian industry
team led by MacDonald Dettwiler MDA of Richmond,
ERS-1
British Columbia, is building
this lighter, cheaper satellite
that improves on Radarsat-1
with new modes, higher
resolution, multi-polarisation,
more frequent revisits and an
increased downlink margin,
which allows lower-cost receiving systems.
Further plans for wide-ranging cooperation with ESA in
Radarsat are under discussion, including the possibility of a
joint venture between Canada and Europe for Radarsat-3.
Canada will be an active participant in many missions of ESA’s
Living Planet programme, a major Earth-observation effort over
the coming years focussing on increasingly urgent
environmental and climatological needs. Canada shares many
of ESA’s objectives for this programme, such as
Radarsat-2
studying the Earth’s gravity field, ocean
circulation, atmosphere dynamics, and ice
cover. Working with ESA will also provide
opportunities to further develop Canadian
capabilities in fields such as multi-band SAR
and hyper-spectral imaging.
7
 the stream of radar images is
unaffected.

Reliable information for

natural-disaster management
The Radarsat system has
proved its ability to provide
Sea-surface temperatures, from ERS
reliable, rapid delivery of
In 2000, Envisat, Europe’s largest and most sophisticated satellite images and updates
satellite to date, is following up the two ERS missions with an that meet the urgent needs of
ambitious Earth-observation mission. Its package of 10 civil authorities dealing with Envisat
instruments has combined capabilities natural disasters around the World. Whether it be rivers
greater than those of any previous or overflowing in Québec and Manitoba, an earthquake in Italy,
planned Earth-observation satellite. or a cruise ship threatened by Arctic ice, Radarsat consistently
Canada’s participation in this mission provides the most timely and reliable source of essential
includes a project by ABB Bomem, of information for officials responsible for disaster management.
Quebec City, to simulate and validate
the MIPAS instrument for measuring When the Russian oil tanker ‘Hakhoda’ ran aground in a storm
trace elements in the atmosphere. near Japan in 1997, causing the worst oil spill in that country’s
history, Radarsat images allowed Japanese authorities to clearly
Radar satellites provide new levels identify the location and extent of
of marine safety the spill, vastly facilitating clean-up
MIPAS Today, as ice floes drift into North operations and dealing with the
Atlantic shipping lanes, the Canadian Ice Service of potential threat caused by the spill
Environment Canada tracks them from space using Radarsat. to the intake of a nuclear power
Until recently, a vastly more costly and less effective, and at plant.
times more dangerous, system of air surveillance was needed
to provide this vital support for safe marine transportation. The
Centre has saved some $ 7 million per year in the switch to
satellite imaging, while improving its capabilities to provide
unprecedented levels of precision and reliability. Radar satellites
make this possible. In heavy weather, when visibility closes in,
and the need for close tracking becomes even more urgent,

8
 From deep space to cold oceans to forest fires
Space technologies are advancing rapidly, though
the process is not easy. It requires investigation of
promising concepts, and investment to bring them to
the point where they can be effectively evaluated.
Not all ideas succeed and so there is considerable
financial risk attached. Cooperation between Canada
and Europe helps to share that risk, and pool
resources to achieve the
maximum possible progress.
A few examples of this
cooperation follow.
Tracking Rosetta through deep aa
space
ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft will be
launched in 2003 on a 10-year mission
to study Comet Wirtanen and two
asteroids. Throughout its mission, its
Telemetry, Tracking & Control (TT&C)
will depend on the performance of a
35-metre antenna built by an industrial
Rosetta
team led by SED Systems of Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan. SED Systems, which has been providing
TT&C systems for nearly 20 years, is building on its
core technologies to meet the challenge of
communicating reliably with a spacecraft that will
travel up to 900 million kilometres from Earth (a
distance that signals take 100 minutes to travel at
the speed of light). This antenna will also be used for
future missions to Mars.
Adapting space technologies for harsh terrestrial
environments
Technologies developed for operations in the unforgiving
environment of space can have valuable applications in harsh
environments on Earth. In Newfoundland, C-CORE, an
independently funded engineering research and development
corporation affiliated with Memorial University, adapts space
technologies such as smart robotics and sensors, advanced
materials, satellite-based remote sensing, advanced
communications, and control and power systems for use in
harsh environments. These environments, such as cold oceans,
Arctic, Antarctic, underground and undersea locations, are of
growing interest to resource industries, but present great
challenges to operations.
9
 This unprecedented initiative is
attracting significant matching
funds from the private sector. C-
CORE is building on a successful
launch of the Harsh Environments
Initiative, which involved 14
European and 33 Canadian
companies in eight demonstration
projects. For example, PetroGraFx is
a collaboration with Hibernia
Management and Development
Company Ltd. (HMDC) to develop a
software tool to carry out automated analysis and database
management of core and thin-section images. These images
are collected from core samples taken during exploration and
drilling. The tool will allow the accurate analysis of
petrographic images in terms of important visual
characteristics, such as porosity, mineral content, and shape
and size distributions. Another project, SMART (Sensori-Motor
Augmented Reality for Telerobotics), is an IRIS/PRECARN project
Augmented Reality Telerobotic Control Concept
The SMART concept
10
which aims to design, implement
and test an innovative approach
to telerobotics for interventions in
harsh environments. The focus
application for the development
is the supervisory control of
multiple mining robots. This project includes R&D in the areas
of interactive 3D sensing, enhanced perception, intelligent
mediation, and intelligent control.
Fighting forest fires with help from space
In managing emergency situations, for example the fighting of
forest fires in British Columbia, real-time communications are
crucial to connect command centres with the entire operation
over the affected region, including helicopters, vehicles, heavy
fire-fighting equipment, and handheld terminals.
ESA’s REMSAT (REal-time Management of emergency situations
via SATellite) programme bridges the gap between satellite
service providers and emergency management end-users, to
offer a powerful network that brings together telecom-
munications, positioning, and Earth observation.
REMSAT’s capabilities were successfully demonstrated in British
Columbia in September 1999. Under an ESA contract, MDA –
a company with extensive expertise in space-based operations
and transportable equipment – teamed up with the British
Columbia Forest Service, which has the responsibility for
fighting forest fires, protecting communities and timber
resources in an area of over one million square kilometres. The
Service deals with over 3000 fires per year, and is
internationally recognized for its emergency-management
operations.
 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.

REMSAT can also be adapted to meet the needs of many other

types of emergencies, such as earthquakes, floods,
exceptionally severe winter
conditions, and those involving
hazardous materials. MDA has been
working with emergency and
disaster-management agencies in
Canada, the USA, Mexico and
Europe to supply REMSAT-based
disaster-management systems.

11
 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

12
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.

Looking to the future, space cooperation between Canada and

ESA promises to continue to be mutually beneficial and
productive, resulting in solid benefits for both Canada and
Europe while providing benefits for all humanity – benefits that
transcend all borders.

ESA Head Office, Paris

13
Vancouver B.C., from ERS

14