Canada Needs a Space Policy to Have a Voice in a Crowded Arena, Garneau Says

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – Former Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau is urging the federal government to draft a national space policy.

Garneau says China, India and Brazil are developing space programs to compete with the U.S. and Russia, and space is becoming an increasingly crowded arena. He says it is important for Canada to be there to have a voice.

Garneau told an Ottawa news conference Thursday that a national space policy would help Canada achieve a number of national objectives, including Arctic sovereignty.

Garneau’s call for a Canadian space policy coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite, widely considered to be the start of the space age.

Canada became the third country to place a satellite in orbit, behind the Soviet Union and the U.S. when it launched Alouette in 1962.