US Air Force sees the benefit of CANEUS SSWG (Small Satellite Working Group)

Andrew Quintero

The Aerospace Corporation
Chairman – CANEUS SSWG

El Segundo, California
April 3, 2008

The International CANEUS Organization is pleased to report a highly successful meeting between CANEUS SSWG (Small Satellite Working Group) Chairman Andrew Quintero and Dr. Roberta Ewart, Chief Scientist, Air Force Space Command, Space & Missile Systems Center, to discuss how the CANEUS SSWG initiative would benefit Aerospace and Air Force programs.  

This meeting held at the SMC on 27th March 2008, also resulted in an invitation to CANEUS SSWG to meet with the Air Force officers responsible for both advanced concepts and implementation policy.  CANEUS SSWG Chairman Andrew Quintero is also asked to Chair the opening session of the Space 2008 conference to further expose the SSWG concepts to a broader audience.

Synergy between CANEUS SSWG Functions and the Air Force objectives

Dr. Ewart pointed out that some of the key functions proposed by the CANEUS SSWG are very much aligned with the Air Force objectives currently under way in the planning phases.  The meeting also covered the strategy of addressing policy from a horizontal perspective that crosses all programs.

CANEUS International Chairman Milind Pimprikar has been working with several CANEUS SSWG members to create the initial draft “Implementation Plan for International Cooperation on Small Satellite Development” in the context of the Micro/Nano/Pico class Satellite systems.  Download PDF Document

CANEUS SSWG 3-Year Implementation Plan

The core to the implementation plan was derived from the CANEUS SSWG Workshop held in El Segundo on January 31-February 1, 2008, which included the introduction of five principal tasks constituting the plan, and the introduction of the initial three subgroups:

　1) Standards Development
　2) Launch Services
　3) Government Liaison and Strategic Development

IP and Launch Certification Service

Dr. Ewart suggested that an additional priority principal task be added to address intellectual property rights, which led to a suggestion for two additional sub-groups:  

1. Intellectual Property Management Program
2. Launch Certification Services Organization

Air Force Commitment

CANEUS SSWG Chairman Andy Quintero is preparing for discussions with an internal Air Force focus group scheduled for 25 April to further the formal commitment toward engaging Air Force objectives with the CANEUS SSWG implementation plan.
For information,

CANEUS International is a non-profit organization catering primarily to the needs of the aerospace sector by fostering the coordinated international development of MNT (Micro-Nano Technologies) for aerospace and defence applications.  CANEUS focuses on the practical aspects of transitioning emerging technologies rapidly and efficiently from the concept to the system level, that is, in a seamless manner through Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1 to 9.  Particular attention is paid to transiting TRL levels 4 to 7, commonly known as the ‘Valley of Death’ for technology development.  It does this by bringing together developers, aerospace end-users, governmental agencies and investors from, initially, Canada, Europe and the U.S (hence the acronym CANEUS).  Organizations from other countries, namely Japan and Brazil, have now joined in CANEUS activities. The motivation is collectively to mitigate the risks and costs for stakeholders to deploy next-generation Small Satellites.
To achieve its objectives, CANEUS has formed several working groups, one of which is the CANEUS Small Satellite Working Group (SSWG).