spacetoday.net: Canada cancels Russian launch to protest Ukraine crisis

Posted: Sat, Apr 26, 2014, 12:07 PM ET (1607 GMT)
M3MSat illustration (CSA)

The Canadian government has canceled plans to launch a small satellite on a Russian rocket later this year to protest the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Canadian company COM DEV announced Thursday that the launch of M3MSat, which the company was building for the Canadian Space Agency and the Canadian military, would not be launched as planned this June on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur. In a statement, the company said "current events" in Ukraine led to the decision. The Canadian government will seek alternative launch accommodations for the satellite, although none have yet to be announced. The 75-kilogram satellite, designed to detect Automatic Identification System from ships and transmit that information to ground stations, was part of a payload of several other satellites on that launch.