Event: Canadian Space Agency 1st Orbital Debris Workshop

March 16, 2011 at 7:32 pm | Posted in Space Law Current Events | Leave a comment

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The Canadian Space Agency will be hosting its 1st Orbital Debris Workshop on June 21st and 22nd, 2011; at the Canadian Space Agency’s Conference Centre in St-Hubert, Quebec:

The 1st Orbital Debris Workshop organized by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is aimed at informing and consulting with Canadians who are interested in the subject of Orbital Debris. The workshop is addressed to all stakeholders (industry, university, research organizations, other government departments, etc.) active or interested in the subject of human-generated Orbital Debris.

In 2010, CSA joined the Inter-Agency Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) to actively work with other space agencies in order to mitigate and minimize potential threats to Canadian satellites and other space assets, to share information relating to space debris and to focus and harmonize Canadian space research activities in this area.

The two day workshop will include invited speakers from IADC and NASA, followed by plenary sessions for information sharing and feedback, in line with the IADC Working Groups:

* Monitoring and Measurement of Orbital Debris: to gain information on man-made objects in near-Earth space; characterization and modeling of debris around the Earth; and the storage and timely access of data by electronic means.
* Protection: to assess the effects of OD damage; to evaluate the design and technology of spacecraft shielding against space debris; and associated test methods (including hypervelocity tests).
* Mitigation: the study of measures to avoid collisions with debris, reduce (or remove) debris, avoid the creation of space debris or reduce the hazards created by space debris.
* Regulation: to assess Canadian and international measures to regulate on the creation of debris and the safe disposal of space assets; and to consider other methods of national co-operation in relation to space debris.