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CANADIAN AERONAUTICS AND SPACE INSTITUTE
CASI TORONTO FLYERAPRIL 2016, Volume 23 #7
Toronto Branch Membership Newsletter
NEWSLETTER LINKSClick on any of the links below to
move to other sections of theNewsletter
Industry News
Academic News
Museum News
UPCOMING CASI EVENTS
Keep an eye on social media forinformation about CASI Toronto
Branch meetings.
Our final meeting of the seasonwill be the Annual Dinner Meeting& Awards Night which takesplace on Saturday, April 23.
Location: Holiday Inn Yorkdale
Time: 6:00 Networking/7:00 Dinner
Price: $55 adults/$45 students
Registration & Payment
The evening’s keynote speaker willbe Dr. David Zingg from UTIASand recent Turnbull Lecturer. Hew i l l b e d i s c u s s i o nEnvironmentally SustainableAviation, specifically the impact ofaviation on the environment, withe m p h a s i s o n i n - f l i g h te n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t .Technologies toward reducingnoise and emissions will bepresented, including researchcurrently underway at UTIAS.
Each meeting our members haveattended over the past season willentitle them to a CASI Knotsdiscount on the price ofattendance at our upcomingAnnual Dinner Meeting!
Previous Branch Meeting
The March meeting featured AlanWhite, former Bombardier TestEngineer and Technical SupportManager, who gave a rivetting talkentitled The DHC Dash 7: Bringing STOL Service from theBackwoods to Downtown.
Members of the audience got togetherto present Alan with a Dash 7 yokeafter the lecture.
CASI Conference
CASI Astro will take place inOttawa May 17 - 19, 2016. Form o r e d e t a i l s s e ewww.casi.ca/astro.
Volunteers needed! If you are aCASI Student Member and wouldlike to volunteer at the eventplease contact [email protected].
SPREAD THE WORD
Help us to publicize our TorontoBranch meetings. Share yourmeeting notice with friends andcolleagues, and post them aroundyour school or workplace.
YOUR NEWSLETTER
The CASI Toronto Flyer brings you l o c a l a e r o s p a c e n e w s . Suggestions and/or contributionsare always welcome. If you’vebeen to an interesting lecture, tellus about it. Contact the Editor, Gillian Clinton, of ClintonResearch, at:
CONTACT US
Get in touch with CASI TorontoBranch Executive with questions,comments or suggestions: [email protected]. oron Facebook (“CASI Toronto”).
Contact information for Executivemembers and additional eventinformation is also available on theCASI website (casi.ca/toronto).
LOCAL NEWS
New CANAV Books
Birdman: The Wright Brothers,Glenn Curtiss and the Battle toControl the Skies by LawrenceGoldstone.
Aviation in Canada: The PioneerDecades by Larry Milberry
For more information, contactL a r r y M i l b e r r y :[email protected].
CAHS Toronto ChapterDinner Meeting
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Canadian Forces College, OfficersMess, 215 Yonge Blvd.
Special Guests:
Jack Ford - WWII RCAFPhotographer
Don Connolly - RenownedCanadian Artist
www.cahs.ca/chapters/toronto
www.torontoaviationhistory.com
Toronto Pearson PublicTours
Go behind the scenes at theairport. Registration for our publictour program is open now - don’tmiss out. Come out to the airfieldand see what happensbehind-the-scenes. Each tourlasts two hours and requiresadvance reg is t ra t ion v iawww.torontopearson.com/tours.
2016 Full Scale EmergencyExercise
Volunteers needed for TorontoPearson’s Largest Ever Exercise.
Toronto Pearson is hosting a fullscale emergency exercise and islooking for 400 volunteers tosimulate this scenario and play theroles of passengers, family andfriends.
Date: Saturday, May 28, 2016
Location: Toronto PearsonInternat ional A i rpor t andsurrounding facilities
All volunteers must be age 18 orover to participate. Volunteers age12-18 are welcome with legalguardian who is also participatingin the exercise. High schoolstudents can receive volunteercredit for this event.
Click here to learn more andregister to be a volunteer.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Air Inuit to be LaunchCustomer for Bombardier
Q300 Freighter with a LargeCargo Door
TORONTO – March 1, 2016 –Bombardier Commercial Aircraftand Air Inuit Ltd. announced todaythat they are working together on apassenger-to-freighter conversionfor the Q300 turboprop aircraft.The freighter will include a largecargo door. Dorval, Québec-basedAir Inuit, a long-time operator ofQ300 aircraft has championed thismodification and will be the launchcustomer for the conversion. Insupport of this conversion, a newSupplemental Type Certificate(STC) will be developed underlicense by a specialized third partyentity.
“With its excellent airfieldperformance – especially on gravelrunways – the Q300 aircraft is well adapted for remote operations likethose required to supportCanada’s resource industries andNorthern Communities,” saidChristian Busch, Vice Presidentand Chief Operating Officer, AirInuit. “The Q300 aircraft hasserved us well in our passenger,charter and cargo operations inNunavik and other markets formany years, and we look forwardto enhancing our cargo serviceswith three Q300 Large Cargo Doorfreighters.”
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“The cost-effective Bombardier QSeries aircraft continue to provetheir high value with more than 150operators around the world,” saidTodd Young, Vice President andGeneral Manager, CustomerServices, Bombardier CommercialA i r c r a f t . “ T h epassenger-to-freighter conversionwill of fer an outstandingopportunity for additional utilizationof the robust, reliable platform thatthe Q300 aircraft provides. Wethank Air Inuit for its enthusiasmand assistance in moving thisproject forward.”
The converted Q300 aircraft isexpected to have a cargo capacityof 12,500 lb with an optimizedcargo door. The aircraft willaccommodate palletized and freeload cargo.
Air Inuit currently operates a fleetof 25 aircraft that includes twoBombardier Q100 and 10 Q300turboprops.
About Air Inuit
Air Inuit is a Canadian regionalairline, owned by the Inuit ofNunavik through Mak iv ikCorporation. The airline providesvital passenger, charter, medical,cargo and emergency airtransportation services across thenorthern Canadian region ofNunavik, of Quebec,of Canadaand beyond. Air Inuit operates afleet of 25 arctic-adapted aircraftwhich include Boeing 737-200C,Bombardier Dash 8 Series 300(Q300) and Dash 8 Series 100(Q100) turboprops, HawkerSiddeley 748, Twin Otter and KingAir. Its dedicated team of morethan 625 employees arecommitted to delivering safe,punctual and courteous air service.Additional information is availableat airinuit.com
Women Soar at PorterAirlines
TORONTO – March 4, 2016 –Porter Airlines is launching WomenSoar at Porter to promoteopportunities for women inaviation. This effort coincides withInternational Women’s Day onMarch 8.
Women Soar at Porter aims tobridge the gender gap within allareas of the organization, includingPilots, Leadership, and GroundOperations, as well as othervarious underrepresented groups.
Initiatives include: creating aresource group for internaldevelopment; relationship buildingwith high schools, colleges andflight schools; and partnering withorganizations that promote womenin aviation and aerospace.
Initial emphasis is on increasingthe number of female pilots atPorter. Twelve per cent of theairline’s pilots are women today;more than double the industry’saverage of approximately five percent.
“Women Soar at Porter representsthe drive that our team membershave to influence change andbreak down barriers,” said RobertDeluce, president and CEO ofPorter Airlines. “Women aregenerally underrepresented in theaviation industry. There needs tobe a fundamental shift in thinking.Being a pilot - or maintenanceengineer, or executive - is a job foranyone willing to work hard andwith a passion for what they do.”
A v i a t i o n b e g a n a s amale-dominated industry and thisis still common for many roles. Assuch, women do not always seethe possibilities available to themin the industry at an early age.
There is also the misconceptionthat a career as an airline pilotmeans being away from home foran extended period of time on aregular basis. This isn’t always thecase. At Porter, pilots with someseniority can choose flyingschedules that allow them to be athome before or after school withtheir family, or they can chooseschedules that allow them to fulfilltheir dream of travelling. Flexibilityis a key advantage of the Porterschedule.
A related initiative is theintroduction of a Pilot RecruitmentAmbassador. This role focuses ondeveloping an external mentorshipprogram for high potentialcandidates – both women andmen.
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RCMP Charge Four inConnection with the Illegal
Export of Goods andTechnologies to China
Kitchener, ON – February 29,2016 – Mounties have chargedfour men with illegally exportingrestricted information from Canadato China to help develop thatcountry’s space satellites.
Investigators allege two employeesof a Waterloo, Ont., technologycompany stole “technical data”from the company and thencreated a separate firm to brokercontracts abroad.
The two men, along with a formeremployee, landed contracts withtwo Chinese companies, includingone that was state-owned, tocreate microelectronics that would“enhance” China’s satellitecameras, police said.
Police announced numerous theftand fraud-related charges againstArthur Xin Pang, 46, ofPierrefonds, Que., and hiscompany, Global Precision Inc.;Binqiao Li, 59, of Waterloo; NickTasker, 62, of Britain, and hisM o n t r e a l c o m p a n y 3 DMicroelectronics; and Hugh Ciao,50, of California.
Pang and Li were arrested andhad their first court appearanceMonday. Pang remains in custody,while Li was released onconditions. Arrest warrants wereissued for Tasker and Ciao.
“I can confirm that Mr. Pang andMr. Li are no longer employees ofTeledyne DALSA, and thatTeledyne DALSA brought thismatter to the attention of theCanadian government,” companyspokeswoman Geralyn Miller saidMonday in an email.
See the full RCMP News Report.
ACADEMIC NEWS
OAC Announces ThreeScholarships for Aerospace
Studies
The Ontario AerospaceCouncil is pleased to be ableto offer three scholarships for
the 2016-2017 Academic Year forstudents going into or currentlyenrolled in an aerospace studiesprogram at a post-secondaryinstitution (college or university) inOntario.
The value of each scholarship is$1,800.00 CAD.
Full details are available on theOAC website.
High School EngineeringContests as the REALFuture of Innovation
By Chuck Black
TORONTO – March 7, 2016 –There was a time, back in the1980's, when the Canadarm wasthe pinnacle of robotics technologyand innovation could be jumpstarted by adding a few tens ofmillions of dollars to the CanadianSpace Agency (CSA) budget.
Those days are long past.
Anyone looking at the future ofinnovation and robotics todayneeds to start with events like the2016 Greater Toronto CentralRegional First Robotics Contest,which was held at RyersonUniversity in Toronto March 2-5.
Teams from more than 40 differenthigh schools spent six weeksbuilding and designing robots tocompete in a series of medievalthemed match-ups designed totest their creations' capabilities andhave a little fun.
The event, organized by FirstRobotics Canada, a registeredcharity established in 2001 andincorporated in 2004, is intendedto inspire Canadian high schooland elementary school students topursue further studies and careersin science, technology andengineering.
Photo c/o Heather Young
Sponsors for the event includedthe Argosy Foundation, Boeing,Bruce Power, Dow ChemicalsCanada, Hatch Engineering,Magna International, NASA, thePower Workers Union, the OntarioMinistry of Education, Redpath,Pratt & Whitney Canada, RockwellAutomation, Scotiabank, SynnexCanada, Union Gas, Xerox, a halfdozen Canadian universities andquite a few others.
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Individual teams also receivedsponsorships from a variety oforganizations including GMCanada, Qualcomm, RBC WealthManagement, Union Gas andothers, which makes sense giventhat individual teams generallyneed to raise thousands of dollarsin order to successfully compete.
The sponsors are happy tocontribute because it gives themfirst look at Canada's nextgeneration of manufacturing androbotics innovators since asubstantial portion of our currentengineering workforce is nearingretirement age, and will need to bereplaced over the next few years.
The event isn't even all thatunique. It was simply one ofapproximately 125 equivalentevents organized by First Robotics(seven of which are expected totake place in Canada) forelementary and high schoolstudents interested in robotics.
Typical of the robots entered intothe competition is the 114.5 poundmachine built over a six weekperiod by students at theRunnymede Robotics Club, whichoperates out of the RunnymedeCollegiate Institute in Toronto,Ontario, and which is sponsoredby Thales, local Optimist and Lionsclubs and others. Runnymedestudents Brent Watling, BrennanStanfield, Rishab Bhatt, mentorKelly Wilson and driver KeiranWilson help their 1310 unit engageits "tower scaling mechanism." Themechanism utilizes a compactscissor lift for scaling hookdeployment, along with a dualmotor winching mechanism andpassive rope cleat restraints inorder to prevent the robot fromfalling back to Earth at the end ofthe demonstration.
Multiple universities and collegesin Ontario offer scholarships tograduating students participating in
the FIRST Robotics Competition.
The charity also has the support ofthe public sector. As outlined ontheir website, "in April 2010, theProvince of Ontario announcedthat it would make a grant of$3Mln CDN to FIRST RoboticsCanada over five years to offer itsprograms to school boards acrossOntario. In 2011 the FederalEconomic Development Agencyfor Southern Ontario announced atgrant of $1.5Mln CDN over threeyears."
Our thanks for this article to ChuckBlack who is the editor of theCommercial Space blog.
U of T Will BoostClimate-change Research,Innovation and Education
TORONTO – March 30, 2016 –The University of Toronto issupporting new academic projectsin the fight against climate change– an area in which the University isalready recognized as a globalleader.
...
President Meric Gertler stated“universities in particular have acrucial and unique role to play inhelping to meet that challenge,and as a publicly supportedacademic institution, the Universityof Toronto has a responsibility totake decisive action.”
...
Currently, more than 200 facultymembers on all three campuses ina variety of disciplines areresearching topics in energy andthe environment, including climate
change – many in collaborationwith leading national andinternational organizations.
Among them Omer Gulder andClinton Groth, of aerospaceengineering, are collaborating withgovernment and industry todevelop a cleaner, low-emissionfuel for commercial aviation.
Read the full article online.
Designing Greener Airplanes
TORONTO – March 30, 2016 – Uof T Engineering professors aredeveloping innovations in airplanedesign that could save hundreds ofmillions of litres of jet fuel everyday and significantly reduce theenvironmental impact of flying.
Professor Craig Steeves of theUniversity of Toronto Institute forAerospace Studies is collaboratingwith Professor Glenn Hibbard ofmaterials science & engineering.They're designing materials thatincorporate small-scale truss-likestructures, similar to thescaffolding used inside the Statueof Liberty or for the Eiffel Tower.
The materials are 3D printed usingpolymers and then coated withultra-high strength nanocrystallinemetal. Using computer models aswell as physical prototypes, theteam designs and optimizes thesestructures for strength, stiffness,weight and other desirableproperties.
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“New techniques like 3D printing orautomated fibre placement areenabling us to manufacturestructures that are much morecomplicated than anything wecould build in the past,” saysSteeves. “This enables us tod e s i g n s t r u c t u r e s w i t hunprecedented capabilities.”
You can also read a more detailedarticle on how lightweightstructures and “smart skin” makeaviation more sustainable.
Ideas Taking Flight:University of Toronto
Aerospace Team Unveils itsLatest Fleet
A hybrid drone with both wings androtors, a supersonic rocketpowered by laughing gas andcandle wax, and a satellite smallerthan a toaster that could carrymicroorganisms into orbit: thesewere just some of the innovationson display at Aerospace Showcase2016, organized by the Universityof Toronto Aerospace Team(UTAT).
“There is meaning and passionbehind every piece of technologyyou see here today,” said JeremyWang (Year 3 EngSci), UTAT’sExecutive Director. “One of thethings this team helped me realizeis that aerospace is not just aboutaerospace — we hope to showyou its importance at a deeplypersonal and cultural level which isfelt, but not always noticed.”
Professor Markus Bussmann,vice-dean of graduate studies at Uof T Engineering, spoke to theways that teams like UTAT enrichthe engineering educationexperience. “Design teams giveour students opportunities to fostertheir interests and passions,develop key engineering andprofessional competencies andcompete against other top
engineering schools at nationaland international events,” he said.“These learning experiencesprepare them to succeed and leadin whatever they choose to donext.”
Professor Philippe Lavoie (UTIAS),who serves as faculty advisor toUTAT, recalled his own formativeexperiences on student designteams. “One of the lessons Ilearned is that when you are facedwith the most difficult challenges,that’s when you’re going to be atyour best and find the mostinnovative solutions,” he said. “Ittakes a lot of sacrifice, but whatyou get back is ten times greater.”
More than 100 students areinvolved with UTAT across fivedivisions, including rocketry, aerialrobotics, unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs, also known as drones),space systems, and outreach andadvancement.
At the showcase, UTAT unveiledthis year’s fleet of five newvehicles for the first time:
University of Toronto Explorer II(UT-XII): A fixed-wing drone similarin shape to conventional aircraft.Its body is built mostly oflightweight yet strong carbon fibre,which makes it easy to repair. It’spowered by a single propeller atthe back of the plane, andequipped with multiple camerasand an on-board autopilot in theform of a computer processor.Drones like this could be used foragricultural monitoring, objectrecognition or emergency medicaldelivery.
University of Toronto ExplorerVertical Take-Off and Landing(UT-XV): Similar to the Explorer II,this UAV is a hybrid aircraft thatcontains both fixed wing andquadrocopter features. It too isdesigned for surveillance andpayload delivery, but its ability totake off and land without a runwayallows it to access morechallenging terrain.
University of Toronto Whirlybird(UTW): The Whirlybird is aquadrocopter of a type that couldbe used for agricultural cropsurveillance,to deliver smallpayloads, or to assist indoorinspection such as duringfirefighting. The Whirlybird isdesigned to be lightweight andoptimized for autonomous flight.The quadrocopter is equipped witha stabil ized camera andprogrammed with algorithms thatallow it to take in visual informationand use it to make navigationdecisions.
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“HERON” Astrobiology CubeSat:This satellite is smaller than atoaster and is being built for theCanadian Satellite DesignChallenge held every two years.The HERON will carry a miniaturelaboratory, using tiny fluidchannels and pumps to carry out amicrobiology experiment with yeastthat could offer insight into the guthealth of astronauts.
All humans naturally carry certainspecies of yeast within ourdigestive systems, which arenormally kept in check by ourimmune systems. However,spaceflight can weaken our naturaldefenses and cause the yeast togrow out of control. By observinghow the yeast grow inmicrogravity, the team hopes tolearn more about how to preventthis. Such an experiment would bevery complex and require a greatdeal of valuable astronaut time onthe International Space Station,but can be completed for a fractionof the cost in a satellite. TheHERON will undergo full launchand space environmentalqualification testing as part of thecompetition. The goal is to launchthe winning satellite into orbit.
“
Deliverance” Hybrid SoundingRocket: This is high-altituderesearch rocket designed tocompete at the IntercollegiateRocket Engineering Competitionheld in June of each year in GreenRiver, Utah. The nine-foot vessel ispowered by a mixture of nitrousoxide and paraffin and can fly asfast as 1.4 times the speed ofsound. It is capable carrying aten-pound payload to a height of23,000 feet, about the cruisingaltitude of a typical commercialaircraft, before deploying thepayload and falling back to earth.Such rockets typically carrydevices used by scientists tomeasure the concentration ofchemical substances high in theatmosphere, but at the competitionthe main goal is to learn moreabout the art of making rockets. AsThomas Leung (Year 3 EngSci ofUTAT’s rocketry division says“Rocket science is easy, it’s rocketengineering that’s hard!”
All Photos: Roberta Baker
The Past, Present andFuture of Flight: Q & A with
Professor David Zingg
(Get to know our ADMspeaker!)
TORONTO – March 1, 2016 –From the rise of drones to thepush for greener planes, the worldof aeronautics and space haschanged dramatically in the pastdecade, and Professor DavidZingg has had a front-row seat.Zingg is celebrating 10 years asDirector of the University ofToronto’s Institute for AerospaceStudies (UTIAS), and has spentmore than 25 summers conductingcollaborative research at theNASA’s Ames Research Center inCalifornia. As he nears the end ofhis term at UTIAS, he sat downwith writer Tyler Irving for a chatabout the past, present and futureof aerospace research andeducation at U of T.
What kind of research does UTIASdo, and how has its focus changedover the past decade?
We conduct a broad range of bothfundamental and applied research.For example, we have a hugestrength in studying combustion:understanding exactly how fuelsburn and what the implications arefor emissions, efficiency, etc.Through this fundamental work,we can help aerospace companiespush the limits of combustionengine performance.
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Recently, we’ve gained a greatdeal of expertise in mobile roboticsand autonomy, enabling robots tosense their surroundings and reactaccord ing ly. The or ig inalmotivation for this had to withplanetary rovers, like those usedon NASA’s Mars missions. Buthere on earth we also have robotsworking in mines or underwater, orother places where it’s toodangerous for humans to go.
Another big application of roboticsis self-driving cars; many topcompanies are hiring people towork on that right now. Finally, weconsider unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs, also known as drones) tobe flying robots, so there is a lot ofwork on that area as well.
Your own area of research issustainable aviation. What are thebig questions in that field?
The biggest negative impact ofaviation is the production of CO2and the impacts on climatechange. Our work looks at how wecan reduce the carbon footprint.One way to do this is throughaerodynamic shape optimization toreduce drag, or through new moreefficient aircraft configurations liketruss-braced wings. We areworking with Bombardier ondesigning planes to significantlyreduce fuel consumption andhence emissions.
Another approach is active flowcontrol: this means using actuatorsto influence the way air flowsaround an object, for example, bymaking the flow smoother andreducing drag. Together withUTIAS colleague Phil Lavoie, Ihave a collaboration with Airbuslooking at this.
Finally, I think we’ll see a lot moreplanes being partially powered bybiofuels in the future. It’s importantto remember that the time fromconcept to first flight is 10 to 15years, and an airplane might last
30 years or more. So it will take along time for these innovations tobecome apparent and it is urgentthat we develop them now.
How has the rise of dronesaffected UTIAS?
UAVs — including both rotary-wingaircraft like quadcopters andfixed-wing aircraft that can flyfarther — have huge potential.They could be used for pipelineinspections, medicine delivery toremote communities, bordersecurity, surveillance, trackingforest fires, agriculture and lotsmore.
With all of these drones in action,we are likely going to need somekind of collision avoidance system.We can’t rely strictly on pilots forthat; the drones themselves willhave to have an ability to senseand evade danger. The autonomyresearch we are doing will helpwith that.
The major challenge with UAVsright now is regulation: the FAAand Transport Canada need tocome up with a set of rules that willgovern how drones can be used.There’s a huge civil UAV marketready to flourish once that getssettled.
How else has UTIAS changed overthe last decade?
We have basically doubled thenumber of graduate students andhired nine new professors in thelast 10 years, which is veryexciting. We’ve had very strongapplications from places like MIT,ETH Zurich, and DLR, which isGermany’s NASA. Many arepeople who grew up in Canada,studied abroad and then cameback, so we have a very diverseset of experiences.
As in the past, many of ourgraduates are hired by largecompanies such as Pratt &W hitney, Bombardier and
MacDonald, Dettwiler andAssociates Ltd. But lately, manyhave also gone to work for smallercompanies, for example in theUAV space. There’s a Canadiancompany called SolarShip thatbuilds hybrid aircraft to serviceremote areas, and which has hireda few of our recent grads. And asI mentioned, our graduates arevery popular with the handful ofcompanies doing research onself-driving cars.
What industries does UTIASpartner with?
We have extremely strongrelationships with the largeindustry players in Canada: MDA,Bombardier and Pratt & WhitneyCanada. We’re also forging newlinks with UAV companies throughour Centre in Aerial RoboticsResearch and Education, launchedearlier this year. More broadly, thetrend has been toward workingwith international organizationsand companies, which isstrengthened by having so manyyoung professors with connectionsoutside of Canada.
Finally, we are in the midst of amajor initiative in partnership withBombardier and CentennialCollege: we’ve formed theDownsview Aerospace Innovationand Research consortium. Ourgoal is to create a majoraerospace research hub atDownsview Park, where academiaand industry could work togetheron collaborative research.
What’s the most exciting part ofyour work?
It’s very fulfilling to help youngpeople get started in their careers.I also believe strongly in the valueof aviation, and I believe thatclimate change is a seriousproblem, so I’m motivated toaddress both of those things. But Ialso enjoy the challenge of solvinga mathematical puzzle, and in my
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work that is how you come up withnew and better solutions.
I’ve been very fortunate to spendreally most of my time as aresearcher in two places: NASA’sAmes Research Center inCalifornia and UTIAS. At both ofthose organizations, you findpeople with strong fundamentalknowledge who are very generouswith their time and ideas. Whenyou put those qualities together,it’s a winning combination, andthat’s what makes these places sospecial.
Velocity Fund Awards $35kto Drone Company to
Improve Commercial FlightTimes
WATERLOO, ON – March 31,2016 – Pegasus Aeronautics, ahardware company seeking toextend the airtime range of dronesu s i n g a d v a n c e d h y b r i dpowertrains, was among the bigwinners at the Velocity Fund Finalsheld today at the University ofWaterloo.
Velocity is an entrepreneurshipprogram at Waterloo, providing theknowledge, space, community,and funding that startups need tothrive. In addition to receiving ashare of today’s $125,000 infunding, today’s winners will beadmitted to the Velocity Garage,the largest free startup incubator inNorth America.
Founded by four Waterloostudents and graduates from theMechanical, Electrical, andMechatron ics Eng ineer ingprograms, Pegasus Aeronauticsseeks to use its hybrid powertrain
technology to keep drones in theair longer and make unmannedaerial vehicles a viable option forindustrial operators. In addition towinning a $25,000 prize, Pegasusalso won the top hardware prize of$10,000.
Pegasus receive their winning $25kcheque from Mike Kirkup, director ofVelocity.
“Drones are the perfect way toremove people from dangeroustasks, and to help save companiesmoney,” said Matt McRoberts,co-founder and CEO of Pegasus.“Our technology solves a need thathas been hindering the industryfrom its inception by removing thelimitations that batteries place ondrone flight time. Winning theVelocity Fund Finals will allow usto execute our plan to accelerateour beta testing phase in order tobring our product to marketsooner.”
Western UniversityPlanetary Scientist Heads
Back to Mars with EuropeanSpace Probe
LONDON, ON – March 14, 2016 –As the European Space Agency(ESA) and Russian Federal SpaceAgency (Roscosmos) launched a
space probe early this morningfrom the Russian Kosmodrom inBaikonur, Kazakhstan to studytrace gases in the Martianatmosphere, a planetary scientistfrom Western University eagerlywatched online from his home inLondon, Ont.
Livio Tornabene, an adjunctresearch professor in Western’sDepartment of Earth Sciences andcore member of the Centre forPlanetary Science and Exploration,is Canada’s representativeamongst an international team ofinvestigators that will exploringMars through the Colour andSurface Stereo Imaging System(or CaSSIS). CaSSIS is one of thescientific instruments mountedonboard ExoMars’ Trace GasOrbiter (TGO). The systemi n c l u d e s a f o u r - c o l o u r ,high-resolution, 3D-capablecamera.
The overall mission of TGO is tostudy atmospheric trace gases(emphasis on gases less than oneper cent of concentration in theMart ian atmosphere) andinvest igate their possibleconnection to the surface andsubsurface of Mars, while the mainobjectives of CaSSIS are toidentify and characterize thesesurface/subsurface sites aspotential sources and sinks oftrace gases, and to identify thedynamic surface processes thatmay contribute to the behavior ofthese trace gases in the Martianatmosphere.
CaSSIS will provide high-resolution3D colour images of the surface ofMars that will help us tounderstand the processesoccurring at the surface (or withinthe subsurface) that may becontributing to trace gases in theMartian atmosphere.
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Example of a fully-simulatedinfrared-colour and 3D CaSSIS imageof the Nili Fossae region on Mars at4.6 meter per pixel. The Nili Fossaeregion is thought to be one of thepotential source regions for transientmethane gas in the Martianatmosphere that the ExoMars TraceGas Orbiter is hoping to detect,characterise and determine its origins.Based on previous studies, the NiliFossae region is known to possessrocks and deposits that contain agreen mineral called serpentine. Theformation of this mineral is known tocommonly produce methane gas as abyproduct. The image equates toapproximately 6 kilometres in width.
The possible detection of methanegas in the atmosphere was theimpetus behind the development ofthis mission by ESA andRoscosmos. The Canadian SpaceAgency (CSA), who is alsocollaborating on TGO, is fundingand supporting Tornabene’sinvolvement in the mission.
By using previous Mars imagesand data, Tornabene and his teamare currently modeling andsimulating what CaSSIS imagesshould look. TGO arrives in Mars’gravitational path later this year,and begins its full investigationafter it moves into the correct orbitin Dec 2017.
“These image simulations will helpus to determine the best modes ofoperation and will greatly assist inassessing how well CaSSIS willperform on specific investigationsof surface processes,” explainsTornabene. “CaSSIS images willalso be used to not only plan futurerobotic missions, but alsohuman-led missions to Mars.”
Tornabene is also actively involvedwith the High Resolution ImagingScience Experiment (or HiRISE)on NASA’s Mars ReconnaissanceOrbiter (MRO) – now celebratingits 10th [Earth] year anniversary inorbit. Over the last year,Tornabene has included sixWestern students in the planningand acquisition of over 500 HiRISEimages.
“This not only prepares someWestern students for involvementwith CaSSIS, but also for futureinvolvement in other missions toMars, and beyond,” saysTornabene.
Lassonde Students TakeKey Prizes at the Young
Space EntrepreneursCompetition
TORONTO – March 15, 2016 –Four Lassonde students won firstand second place at the YoungSpace Entrepreneurs Competitionon Saturday, March 5 at Universityof Western Ontario. Two teams ofstudents presented their businessplans to a panel of judgesk n o w l e d g e a b l e a b o u tentrepreneurship and/or the spacesector.
The challenge was to develop abusiness plan for a profitableproduct or service in the spaceindustry.
Lassonde students PatrickHazzard and Shenalie Fernandotook first place with their venture,Reaching Horizon. Their businessidea was to offer a different type ofmemorial ceremony that allows
people to scatter their loved ones’ashes into space. Both arefifth-year space engineeringstudents.
Along with two Schulich students,Benjamin Ghatan and KouroshKadivar, Lassonde's KeithMenezes and Yuriy Davydov,third-year space engineeringstudents, took second prize at thecompetition. They presentedIntegral Technologies, an opticalcommunicat ion device forinterplanetary nanosatell i temissions.
“Last year I went to Technion aspart of the BEST program, andw h a t I l e a r n e d a b o u tentrepreneurship certainly gaveme an edge in this competition,”said Menezes about the win.
MUSEUM NEWS
TORONTO INTERNATIONALAEROSPACE
(formerly Canadian Air & SpaceMuseum)
www.casmuseum.org
airforcemuseum.ca
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www.warplane.com
Anne Frank: A History ForToday
DATE: March 12 - August 28, 2016
LOCATION: Canadian WarplaneHeritage Museum
TIME: 9 am to 5 pm daily
Regular admission rates apply.
DETAILS: The story of AnneFrank and her life of hiding in theSecret Annex during the SecondWorld War is a story ofperseverance and bravery. Livingfor almost 2 years in hiding duringthe Nazi occupation of Holland,she recorded her daily thoughts ina journal. Today, her journal is atestament to the prejudice that wasfaced by so many during theHolocaust.
The Canadian Warplane HeritageMuseum is proud to present “AnneFrank- A History for Today” fromthe Anne Frank House inAmsterdam. Featuring the story ofAnne Frank and artifacts neverbefore displayed in Canada. Theexhibit will also focus on Canada’srole in the Liberation of Hollandand the p re jud ices anddiscr iminat ion tha t someCanadians faced, including thosein the RCAF.
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