Canadian Space Travel: the Private Sector Will Do the Heavy Lifting

Canada hasn't put a man into space in over a year, and likely won't do so until 2019. In the meantime, the country's space agency has elected to serve as a "hub" for the private sector's space goals instead.

The Canadian Press recently spoke to Bob Behnken, the chief of NASA's astronaut office in Houston, about why Canada won't be putting a man back on the International Space Station (ISS) any time soon.

According to Behnken, national space agencies around the world have to bid for reserved space on the ISS using credits they earn from past contributions to the continued development of the space station. Understandably, the United States and Russia have the most credits, racking up even more as they continue to add to the station's laboratories and overall explorative goals. The European Space Agency (ESA) is not far behind, but is focusing primarily on investigative missions - namely the construction of the European Extremely Large Telescope - which could be the largest and most advanced Earth-based deep space observation facility ever seen.

Because of this contribution-based credit system, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has not had enough bidding power to reserve a spot on the ISS since it used up most of its credits to put Chris Hadfeilds on the ISS for an impressive five-month stay in 2013.

According to Behnken, the agency won't have another chance to make a bid until 2017. Even then, it appears unlikely that the agency will win a bid until 2019 or 2020 - when other agencies will be focusing on planned deep-space missions. The CSA reportedly had nothing to add.

Still, don't rule Canada out of the space race just yet. Without having a means to put men into space, Canada has decided instead to turn its efforts towards helping front private space missions, allowing for remarkable partnerships between private enterprises and the agency's expertise.

Last February, the CSA announced that a space advisory council would be established to serve as a "hub" for private Canadian space efforts.

CSA president Walter Natynczyk will head this council, which is comprised of CSA members and private sector representatives, and involves more than 200 companies, 30 universities and 21 government departments working together on various projects, according to the Canadian Press.

The council was formed in the wake of a revamping of the Canadian Space Policy Framework, which now favors supporting the private sector rather than setting specific agency goals.

"And what's key here is this policy allows the space agency to enable all their success," Natynczyk said in a press conference after the announcement.

Canada's private space industry reportedly adds $3.33 billion to the economy each year. Following these steps taken to strengthen the private sector, the CSA expects that estimate to grow.