Great Canadian Contributions - Books, Space and Training!

OK, so it's been a LONG while since I've posted here. Not because I haven't been reading my MS&T and MedSiM magazines religiously, but because....well, life here at Kobo is NUTS... In all the best possible ways!  As I've fallen in love with everything this company does, it's been hard to find the time and head space to sit down and write about anything A&D. 

Funnily, there are two things that sparked my desire to post today and one is related to books  as well as my last post in January. Commander Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut extraordinaire, announced that he is going to publish a book - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. 

You can bet I'll be pre-ordering this when it becomes available. His experiences are something to be celebrated, and combined with his wit, personability.... well, number one fan...right here!

The second news to highlight is that my former employer NGRAIN has received $9.5-million from SADI to continue it's R&D efforts in 3D equipment maintenance training. At I/ITSEC last year, the company unveiled its augmented reality training solutions designed to improve training and performance when maintaining complex pieces of machinery. Check out the video:

From my perspective, it's nice to hear this good news coming out of Canada's aerospace and defence industry - innovation and thought leadership are two things that every company hopes to bring into storytelling. The challenge is that you actually have to DO something that's innovative and/or have a unique perspective to be able to bring it into your public relations efforts. NGRAIN and Commander Hadfield, have it in spades.

A Canadian Rockstar

It's no secret to anyone who knows me - I am a space nerd - the subject fascinates me and can be woven into more conversations than my work colleagues care to think about. Everyday discussions about the weather and music have led me to introduce people to NASA TV and chat about how satellites are put into different orbits. They've also led me to encourage people to follow Commander Chris Hadfield on Twitter.

As one of Canada's most prolific and personable astronauts - who can rock a moustache like Tom Selleck - I consider myself fortunate to have met and worked with Hadfield as a spokesperson for the Canadian Space Agency when I was working with Neptec. He is likely one of the best-trained spokespeople I have ever met with an uncanny ability to weave messaging into conversations peppered with soundbites for journalists. It's a true art, and he has mastered it!

Now, social media is elevating Hadfield's presence and this time, it's from the International Space Station. He's currently on a five month mission during which his team will perform scientific experiments like VASCULAR which researched the impact of weightlessness on the human body and the ageing effects on bones and blood vessels. He'll also be working with CANADARM2 - sweet!

But, if those amazing things don't turn your crank, tune into Hadfield on Twitter just to view his photos. There's nothing more amazing than looking out into space, only to realize that the most fascinating thing is our Earth.

CAE Mining, Simulation and a Catchy Tune

Check out this cool video from CAE showing its Terra Mining Simulation which uses CM Labs' Vortext solutions to simulate the earth and vehicle dynamics. Thanks to my friend @SLFeeding for sharing!

 

CAE Terra Mining Solution with CM Labs Vortex Software