Canadian-inspired CubeSat Program to propel Ukrainian innovation

Since my career began, I’ve found incredible energy in the classroom, challenging kids to look up to the stars for a great career right here on earth, We’re proud to extend this opportunity to our friends in Ukraine, a country already rich with so much experience and promise.

-- said our CEO Steve Matier in his signing ceremony remarks.

At the Canadian Space Agency Pavilion at this year’s IAC in Paris, Maritime Launch was proud to sign a Letter of Intent to collaborate on a CubeSat Program for universities across Ukraine. It’s an exciting opportunity propelled by the success of the Canadian Space Agency’s Canadian CubeSat Project, and by our incredible collaboration with friends and colleagues in Ukraine.

For the signing ceremony we were joined by Lisa Campbell, President of the Canadian Space Agency, Voldymer Taftai of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU), David Marsh of our CubeSat partner Nanoracks, and our own Stephen Matier of Maritime Launch.

Led by the Canadian Space Agency, the Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP) inspires winning teams of post-secondary professors and students to build and launch a small but real-life, mission-designed satellite into space.

Like the Canadian program, the Ukrainian CubeSats will be designed and built with the support of Nanoracks for mission integration and Spaceport Nova Scotia as the launch location.

“We’ve had the honor of managing the Canadian CubeSat Project for CSA, working with over a dozen eager university teams across Canada to access space,” says Dr. Amela Wilson, CEO of Nanoracks. “We’re excited to build upon this. International cooperation is what makes the space industry special, and we’re privileged to help bring the next generation of scientists and engineers into this tradition.”

The Canadian Space Agency committed to sharing best practices with State Space Agency of Ukraine in the development of the program.

As supporters and mentors for the program, the Maritime Launch team was invited to attend mission integration this past spring at the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal, and the excitement and pride among teams—the future leaders and designers of the Canadian space industry—was palpable.

Based on the best practices of the Canadian Space Agency, a similar project in Ukraine will ignite the imaginations of students across Ukraine, giving them the ultimate opportunity to get real, tangible experience in the space industry.

This program delivers on what’s important to the mission and vision of Maritime Launch: contributing energy and new enthusiasm to the global space community in a way that’s tangible and future-building.

We look forward to working closely with our partners Nanoracks and the SSAU as we move forward together.