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Canadian Space Agency - Space Science & Space Technology

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  • Artemis II: NASA targets April 1 for the launch

    Further to a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) that took place this week, NASA held a press conference today to highlight the progress made toward the Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. Work is continuing on the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft in NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) after a helium flow issue was encountered in February. In addition to addressing this issue, technicians also installed new batteries and retested the flight termination system and avionics and control systems. The mission management team was satisfied with the thorough discussions about risks and the overall results of the FRR and determined that they would try to launch as early as April 1, 2026, pending completion of all required work in the VAB and at the launch pad. The launch window opens at 6:24 pm ET.

  • Monitoring radiation for astronaut health

    Radiation is one of the key challenges faced by astronauts living and working beyond the protective shield of Earth’s atmosphere. As Canada and its international partners advance plans for missions to the Moon, and eventually Mars, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) continues to invest in technology to better understand exposure levels. The CSA has awarded a contract of $5.5 million to Bubble Technology Industries for the continued development of the CANS, a compact and autonomous instrument designed to measure neutron radiation exposure in space.

  • Artemis II: NASA prepares to roll back rocket to assembly building, will not launch in March

    NASA will be rolling back the Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida observing interrupted flow of helium in the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Weather pending, the roll back will take place on Tuesday, February 24. NASA is investigating potential faults, but accessing and remediating any of these issues can only be performed in the VAB. This removes the March launch opportunities from consideration.

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RAC logo
Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio Course so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications. 

With your Advanced Certificate, you can run higher power, operate a remotely-controlled station, obtain operating privileges when travelling overseas, set up repeaters, be the trustee for club stations and even become an Accredited Examiner (AE) if you have the Morse code qualification. 

Note: You need to be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member to register for this course. If you are not already a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member, you can upgrade easily. A registration form will be included below but you will need to be a Maple Leaf Operator Member to be able to see it and to register. Please see below for information.

{Note from YARS - Membership is $100 or so but the course is free to RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members}

Read more: Amateur Radio Advanced Course Offering Spring 2026

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Category: Civil Defence
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Two experiments follow where AI systems were asked to respond to "ham radio asserting canadian sovereignty".  Two different answers.  We think the second response is more accurate (from Copilot).

Read more: HAM Radio Asserting Canadian Sovereignty - What AI says...

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Category: Technical Notes
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Retrofuturism - Anachronistic Technology and HAM Radio

Figure 1 - Screenshot with 3 Different Versions of WordPerfect Running under Linux Mint

The figure above may seem rather silly.  It shows WordPerfect 8.0 for UNIX running - roughly the equivalent of WordPerfect 4.2 for MSDOS - mid to late 1980s.  WordPerfect 6.0 for MSDOS is shown running in the DOSBOX, an emulator for MSDOS - late 1990s).  Finally WordPerfect X.13 is shown running in a virtual machine that is running Windows 7.  All of these are running under Linux Mint 21.x.  The laptop on which they are running is an old ASUS X55U, with motherboard manufactured in 2013. 

Read more: WordPerfect on Linux

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Category: Technical Notes
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What is the Aurora?

Images of auroras from around the world, including those with rarer red and blue lights

The aurora borealis or Northern Lights is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs in the northern hemisphere of the planet.  It also occurs in the southern hemisphere where it is known as the aurora australis. Aurora are known to exist on comets, brown dwarfs, other planets and on some moons. Aurora are caused by solar wind interacting with magnetic fields and atmospheric particles.  Atmospheric particles become energized and form what is known as plasma.  Plasma is energized or ionized gas.  It is the fourth state of matter and has been so identified since about 1972.  Yes, your high school teachers who taught you the three states of matter were...well...not current in their physics.  You see plasma every day when you see the sun, an operating fluorescent light or an operating neon light. 

Read more: Aurora Borealis

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