April 5th, 200, Montreal

Canada’s CANEUS NPS Inc. and the INRS (Institut national de la recherché scientifique) have taken the bold step with the signing of agreement between the two organizations that brings Quebec and Canada one step closer to develop and manufacture Micro-Nano-Pico Satellites in Canada.  The agreement was signed by Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of CANEUS NPS Inc. and Jean-Claude Keiffer, Acting Director of the Centre Energie, Materiaux et Telecommunications and Sinh LeQuoc, Scientific Director of the INRS.

The economic potential for Quebec and Canada are enormous. This is a new market area that plays to Quebec’s established strength in the aerospace sector. CANEUS NPS Inc. expects a return of 1B$ within ten years. Using emerging Micro- and Nano- Technologies (MNT), CANEUS NPS focuses on producing low-cost, Nanosatellite (~10 kg), Picosatellite (~ 1kg), and Microsatellites ((~100 kg), products that can be mass manufactured and rapidly deployed.

In Canada, the aerospace sector alone had sales of $21.8 billion, exports of $18.5 billion, and employed 75,000 highly skilled-and-paid Canadians in 2005.

Increasing the availability and lowering the cost of satellites has great implications for the space community. Because Nano- and Pico- Satellites are far less expensive and more readily available than conventional satellites, they can be launched more frequently and more cost-effectively. By increasing the frequency of launches, CANEUS NPS will provide ample opportunities for in-space testing of cutting edge technologies and mission architectures at an economical price. Ironically, due to the lack of “space heritage” for emerging technologies, much of current space technology lags behind its terrestrial counterparts, sometimes by as much as two decades. Ultimately, commercial and scientific missions employing conventional satellites will benefit significantly from the increase in the available set of space-qualified technologies and mission architectures.

CANEUS NPS Inc. also expects to benefits from the newly announced “Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI)” by the Government of Canada, that will support strategic research and development that result in new products, processes and services for the benefit of Canadians. On April 2nd, the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable Michael Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister Responsible for Montreal, announced the launch of a new R&D initiative to promote excellence and accelerate innovation in Canada's aerospace, defence, security and space (A&D) industries. SADI is expected to invest nearly $900 million over the next 5 years.

"This collaboration between CANEUS NPS Inc. and INRS through the collaborative research and development activities undertaken in Quebec, further strengthens the business case of investment and scientific innovation in Canada”.

About CANEUS NPS Inc.:

CANEUS NPS Inc. is a unique, first-of-its-kind international undertaking based in Canada, and at the forefront of advanced Micro, Nano and Pico Satellite (NPS) Technology Development. CANEUS NPS Inc. is a novel satellite services company based on mass-produced, multifunctional Nano and Pico Satellite missions that will make access to space truly affordable and available “on demand”. CANEUS NPS Inc. will drastically lower the cost of space missions to between $1M-$4M per mission and increase the frequency of the launches to one or more missions every six months.

INRS (Institut national de la recherché scientifique):

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) was created in 1969 by the Government of Québec. Its mandate includes carrying out fundamental and applied research, training students towards Master’s and PhD degrees as training of highly qualified technical personnel. To realize its mission, INRS has structured its activities into four Research Centers, among which the Center Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications is one. This Center is a cauldron of excellence in telecommunication, photonics, materials, and benefits from the inter-disciplinary expertise of its research professors in materials, nanotechnology, component engineering, and ultrafast photonics as well as in the design and operation of telecommunication systems and networks.