Canadian Space Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Canadian Space Society (CSS) is a federally-incorporated non-profit Canadian corporation. Inspired by the old L5 Society and other space interest groups, its principle objective is to sponsor and promote the involvement of Canadians in the development of Space. This grass-roots space advocacy group is a unique combination of amateur and professional interests, pursuing the human exploration and development of the Solar System and Beyond. With some of Canada's top aerospace experts and engineers on board, the CSS is made up of people of all backgrounds and interests, including teachers, environmentalists, writers, and marketers.
In order to help carry out our principal objective, we pursue the following additional goals:
- to provide meeting and working places to Society members for the purposes of discussion, presentation and development of Space and Space-related technologies;
- to sponsor, promote and engage in activities designed to promote increased knowledge of Space and Space-related technologies among Society members and the general public;
- to pursue the publication and distribution of Space-related materials and products.
The CSS aims to work and grow in ways that allow cooperation, rather than in competition, with other space development organizations (such as the U.S.-based National Space Society and the British Interplanetary Society). In addition, it provides various forums to encourage communication and collaboration with other Canadian space advocacy groups.
[edit] CSS Projects
Many of the people who have joined the CSS have done so out of a desire to "do something" to contribute to space development efforts. A common feeling is that while an individual may not be able to do much on his or her own to help out, much more could be accomplished by joining with a group of like-minded people. This urge has resulted in a number of projects that Society members have worked on over the years. Amongst these are the solar-sail design project the CSS had developed for Canada's entry to the Columbus 500 Space Sail Cup solar sail race to Mars (in 1992), the Tramp Steamer of Space (by Henry Spencer), the Rover Power Beaming Project, and the CRAFTI asteroid fly-by/impact mission.
