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SPACE
FLIGHT 2005 - Other Countries Space Activities
Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer
In Latin America, the countries of Brazil, Chile and Argentina haltingly continued small efforts to develop their own space launch and operations capability for garnering a share of future satellite markets. In 2005, as in 2004, there were no launches from these countries. Brazil has the most advanced space program in Latin America, with significant capabilities in launch vehicles, launch sites, and satellite manufacturing. In 2004, Brazil and Russia agreed to expand their cooperation in space, including the joint development and production of launch vehicles, the launch of geostationary satellites and the joint development and utilization of Brazil's Alc�ntara Launching Center (Centro de Lan�amento de Alc�ntara, CLA) in Maranh�o.
In Canada, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) continued supporting work on its contribution to the ISS partnership, the Mobile Service System (MSS), consisting of the 3960 lbs (1800 kg) Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Canadarm2, the Mobile Base System (MBS), and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM). Canada also has an active Canadian Astronaut Program.
On September 8, Telesat Canada launched its state-of-the-art Anik F1R satellite from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on a Russian Proton-M carrier with a Briz-M upper stage. F1R provides valuable capacity for Canadian direct-to-home satellite television, along with a range of other telecommunications and broadcasting services. The spacecraft also features a navigation payload that will make North American air navigation more reliable and more accurate than ever before. Construction on the Anik F3 satellite is currently underway, with that launch scheduled in 2006.
Also in 2005, Canada's Radarsat-1 "eye-in-the-sky" celebrated its tenth anniversary on November 4, having flown 2,354,120,900 km while orbiting the Earth. Launched on November 4, 1995, it was expected to operate only five years, and the quality of images it captured exceeded the standards of the time. It is still operating and surpassing the standards. Radarsat-1 was built to catalogue the vast expanse of Canada's Arctic. It does this quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively, providing 3,800 images per year to the Canadian Ice Service, the largest of its 600 clients. Over the years, it has delivered precision images and claimed 15% of the world's Earth observation market for Canada. Development of Radarsat-2, equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with multiple polarization modes is under development for launch in 2007 on a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle by CSA. Its highest resolution will be 3 m with 100 m positional accuracy.
Bibliography Aviation Week & Space Technology
(AW&ST, various '05 issues); Aerospace Daily (various
'05 issues), SPACE NEWS (various '05 issues); AIAA
AEROSPACE AMERICA, November 2005 issue; NASA Public Affairs
Office News Releases '05; ESA Press Releases '05;
various Internet sites.
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