Beyond the feel-good rhetoric, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is sitting at an uncertain crossroad. A recent report on aerospace and space concluded that the agency was “foundering” and on a path in which Canada’s space-based industry is being starved of the critical support it needs to thrive in a globally competitive environment (R$, December 6/12).
Recent developments are not encouraging. This month’s announcement of a major contract to complete the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM) — quickly followed by the surprise resignation of CSA president Dr Steve MacLean — was imbued with a discomfiting sense of déjà vu. Five years ago, the successful launch of RCM’s predecessor (Radarsat II) coincided with the abrupt departure of then-president Larry Boisvert (R$, January 21/08).
While the real reasons behind Boisvert’s resignation less than a year into a five-year term were never divulged, MacLean departed nine months short of his mandate to accept a job with a new, unnamed quantum physics institute in Waterloo. In both cases, the presidents were in the midst of developing major policy tools intended to move the agency forward. Boisvert was leading a review of the CSA’s governance structure and its programs while MacLean was responsible for developing a Long-Term Space Plan acceptable to Industry Canada.
The implications of a leaderless CSA won’t be known for some time. Let’s hope the agency will rebound quickly, find a dynamic leader and move forward on recommendations designed to return it to its former glory.
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