MacDonald Dettwiler, Canadian and European Space Agencies will demonstrate the use of satellite technologies in cooporation with the B.C. Forest Service Protection Program.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced today that MacDonald
Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. has entered into an agreement with
the European Space Agency (ESA) and the B.C. Forest Service to
undertake demo testing of the use of satellite technologies for
emergency planning and management of forest fires in the province.
The contract has been made possible through the Canada-ESA Partnership Program of the CSA.
ESA’s Real-time Emergency Management via Satellite (REMSAT)
project is focussed on bridging the gap between technology and
users. MacDonald Dettwiler and the B.C. Forest Service will work
with ESA to provide a pilot demonstration of multiple technologies
that prove the value of space data and services for emergency
management.
The Honorable Raymond Chan, MP for Richmond B.C. and Secretary of
State (Asia-Pacific) stated that: “This year was particularly bad
for forest fires in the province of British Columbia due to the
dry weather. The opportunity that Canada’s Space Program is
providing to MacDonald Dettwiler to advance cutting-edge space
technologies is not only good for industry, but will prove
instrumental in assisting the B.C. Forest Service in emergency
management operations.”
Enthusiasm for the project was also expressed by the Honourable
David Zirnhelt, B.C. Minister of Forests: “B.C.’s forest
protection program is world-class. Together with MacDonald
Dettwiller, ESA and CSA, we can demonstrate to the world the
necessity and importance of applying satellite technology like
REMSAT in fighting forest fires.”
The B.C. Forest Service Protection Program is tasked with fighting
forest fires in B.C. Managing timber resources in an area of over
1 million square kilometres, the Forest Service responds to on
average over 3,000 fires annually. B.C.’s timber resources, which
represent $15 billion of annual economic activity, must be
protected with a reliable emergency management information system.
The B.C. Forest Service Protection Program is internationally-
recognized as one of the world’s leading emergency management
programs. Teaming with MacDonald Dettwiler and ESA, themselves
leaders in the satellite technology markets of the world, it is
anticipated that the B.C. REMSAT program will bridge the gap
between satellite service providers and emergency management end-
users. In addition to enhancing the level of emergency management
in B.C. while protecting a primary environmental resource, the
program will advance Canada’s technology export capabilities.
MacDonald Dettwiler has identified several key requirements for
more effective emergency management: enhanced local field
communications (between fire crews in the field and firefighting
control centres), augmented with data, video images and geographic
location capabilities; up-to-date position and status information
for all resources, including aircraft, heavy equipment and fire
crews for fire attack planning; high-speed communications between
mobile fire control centres and the B.C. Provincial Fire Centre
for enhanced management and suppression of large fires; and
additional background information on the fire area, in the form of
satellite or air photo imagery for aid in fire modelling,
prediction and suppression of large fires.
The resulting REMSAT-based system will be a model for other
emergency management systems, capable of being implemented
anywhere in the world. The field simulation and tests are
scheduled to be conducted in the summer months, when an average of
25 new fires occur across B.C. each day. On completion of the
pilot demonstration and evaluation, the system will be fully
tested through deployment to support fighting a major fire.
The opportunity for MacDonald Dettwiler to bid on the ESA project
is a result of the CSA’s cooperative agreement with ESA. The
Canada-ESA Partnership Program, managed by the CSA, provides
opportunities to Canadian companies to bid for and obtain
technology development contracts from ESA and to participate in
major European space projects. The competition for the REMSAT
project was open to all Canadian suppliers.
1998 marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership between ESA and
Canada. For more than 60 Canadian companies and organizations,
this co-operative agreement has resulted in over 400 ESA contracts
worth in excess of C$250M. In addition to the industrial,
economic, and technological benefits of this co-operation,
Canada’s long-standing participation in ESA programs has provided,
and continues to provide, a window into an organization composed
of 14 European Member States holding a budget of C$4.9 billion and
employing some 1800 people (1996 figures).
The Canadian Space Agency is committed to leading the development
and application of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians
and humanity.
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