Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and Julie Ethier, chief leader of Développement économique Longueuil, holding the Earth at arm’s length during a demonstration of the distances to be covered to reach the Moon and Mars. (Photo: Noah Bietrix).
Scientists and people from the political and business world gathered for this first meeting devoted exclusively to the space industry. At the invitation of Développement économique Longueuil, the forum was held at DIGIFAB in Longueuil, a center of industrial expertise which normally assists businesses in their digital shift.
Today, however, it was a completely different theme that would steal the show.
The general director of Polytechnique Montréal Maud Cohen immediately set the table for a morning where enthusiasm was palpable. Recalling Quebec’s successes in assembling a globally recognized aeronautics ecosystem, Ms. Cohen expressed the hope that this success would be transposed to the space side of aerospace.
“This will require a collective effort and a shared vision between academic institutions, businesses and governments,” Ms. Cohen emphasized at the end of her speech. Polytechnique is ready to play its role, to innovate and train the minds who will build the future of the Canadian space industry. »
“Together, we can propel our region even further,” she continued. So, let’s seize the opportunity and write, together, the next pages of this wonderful adventure. »
A minister, mayors, a mayoress… and an astronaut
Alan DeSousa, mayor of the Saint-Laurent borough, Patrick Charbonneau, mayor of Mirabel, and Catherine Fournier, mayor of Longueuil. (Photo: Noah Bietrix)
Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy, Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism and Minister responsible for the Laval region, spoke afterwards, revealing that he finds in the episodes of the series Star Trek a comforting refuge when he seeks to take his mind off things. If science fiction allows you to dream, projects linked to space allow it just as much, he stressed.
Mélanie Lussier, general director of Aéro Montréal, then moderated the first panel of the event which brought together the three elected officials from Espace Aéro, the new aerospace innovation zone. In turn, the mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, the mayor of the Saint-Laurent borough, Alan DeSousa, and the mayor of Mirabel, Patrick Charbonneau, were able to demonstrate all the dynamism and complementarity of their respective sectors.
Dressed in his traditional blue jumpsuit, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques then appeared on stage to report on the different stages of NASA’s Artemis program. He took the opportunity to expose the technical challenges that await the professionals who will prepare and execute these missions, particularly those targeting an establishment at the South Pole of our satellite.
Distinguished speakers
François Bertrand, master of ceremonies, Brian Gallant, Christian Sallaberger, Leon Alkalai, David Saint-Jacques, Jacqueline Wallace, mistress of ceremonies, and Jerry Bukerwalter. (Photo: Noah Bietrix).
The first Forum Québec Spatial also hosted a series of inspiring conferences highlighting the advances and perspectives of the space sector on the American and Canadian sides. Brian Gallant, President and CEO of Space Canada, opened the ball by emphasizing the need to build a collaborative ecosystem to make Canada a key player in space exploration. Christian Sallaberger, president of Canadensys Aerospace, then spoke about his experience of collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, in particular through the design of a camera which will equip the very first Canadian rover whose launch to the Moon is planned at the earliest in 2026.
Jerry Buckwalter, global director of innovation for the Atlas Initiative for Resilient Infrastructure, offered bold perspectives on using space technologies to reimagine Earth’s cities. The buildings of the future will, according to him, benefit from technologies developed for the settlement of humans on the Moon and will produce part of their energy in addition to integrating a water management system. Essential innovations, he added, to address challenges such as urban densification, resource management and climate resilience.
Finally, Leon Alkalai, president and founder of Mandala Space Ventures, provided insight into the small world of space entrepreneurship. With a 32-year career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), he now supports a handful of young startups through the Mandala Space Ventures incubator and the Explorer-1 Venture Fund.
Astrolith emerges from the shadows
Some of the members of Astrolith during the panel which was devoted to this first Canadian unit dedicated to lunar and cislunar engineering. (Photo Noah Bietrix).
The event ended with three panels which allowed us to delve into the heart of the reality of research, the business environment and that of sectoral industrial research groups.
The first highlighted Astrolith, the first research unit in space resources and infrastructure engineering in Canada led by professors Pooneh Maghoul, Giovanni Beltrame, Gunes Karabulut Kurt and Daria Camilla Boffito. This multidisciplinary group of around fifteen professors from Polytechnique Montréal aims to become a strategic engine for Canadian space ambitions, while promoting international collaborations in this field.
The six faculty members who made up the panel were not the only ones to present Polytechnique initiatives. Among the exhibitors, there were also two student technical companies dealing with space: PolyOrbite, with its rover, and Oronos, with a rocket.
Create strong meshes
The last two panels featured players in the field. The one focused on sectoral industrial research groupings (RSRI) brought together Marie-Pierre Ippersiel, general director of PRIMA-Québec, Guillaume Côté, general director of CRIAQ, and Gilles Déry, general director of CQRDA. The trio notably discussed the challenges that come with the maturation of technologies and the potential synergies between industrial research and the space ecosystem to accelerate innovation in Quebec.
Finally, the panel focused on businesses highlighted several influential figures in the Quebec space sector. Anne-Marie Bertrand (Héroux Devtek), Stéphane Turcotte (Nétur), Jean-Louis Pelletier (VAC AERO International), Jean-François Hamel (NGC Aerospace) and Mathieu Maisonneuve (ABB) joined Bachar Elzein, a former student of Polytechnique Montréal who co-founded Reaction Dynamics, to talk about their projects and the sectors to consider to develop the Quebec space economy.
Learn more
Programme of the first Québec Spatial Forum
Page web d’Astrolith
Expertise sheet by Professor Pooneh Maghoul
Expertise sheet by Professor Giovanni Beltrame
Expertise sheet by Professor Gunes Karabulut Kurt
Expertise sheet by Professor Daria Camilla Boffito
