This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canadian Space Agency

Press Release
**************************************************

CANADA'S MOST TELESCOPE MAKES ITS FIRST STEP TOWARD SPACE

Saint-Hubert, May 23, 2003-The Canadian Space Agency's MOST
microsatellite is scheduled to blast into orbit on 30 June 2003.
Built at Dynacon Inc. (Toronto) and the Universities of British
Columbia and Toronto, MOST is being flown from Toronto to Moscow and
will arrive at its launch site, the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern
Russia, on May 26, 2003. 

MOST (which stands for "Microvariability & Oscillations of STars")
will be Canada's first space telescope. Innovative Canadian
technology has allowed the scientists to pack this telescope in a
microsatellite the size and mass of a suitcase. Despite its modest
dimensions, MOST will make specialized observations beyond the
capacity of any other instrument, including the Hubble Space
Telescope. MOST will probe the interior of stars, set a limit on the
age of the Universe, and for the first time, detect the light
reflected by mysterious planets beyond our Solar System. 

In Plesetsk, MOST will be checked out by a team of Canadian
scientists and engineers, and then mounted onto a Russian "Rockot"
launcher.  This rocket booster was once a nuclear intercontinental
ballistic missile now converted to a peaceful scientific application.

Once in orbit 820 km above the Earth's surface, MOST will circle the
Earth once every 100 minutes, at a speed of about 27,000 km per hour,
passing over ground stations in Toronto and Vancouver (and a backup
in Vienna) several times a day.

About the Canadian Space Agency
Established in 1989 with its headquarters situated in Saint-Hubert,
Quebec, the Canadian Space Agency coordinates all aspects of the
Canadian Space Program. Through its Space Knowledge, Applications and
Industry Development business line, the CSA delivers services
involving: Earth and the Environment; Space Science; Human Presence
in Space; Satellite Communications; Space Technology; Space
Qualification Services; Space Awareness and Education. The Canadian
Space Agency is at the forefront of the development and application
of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and humanity.

- 30 -

For more information:
Monique Billette
Senior Media Relations Officer
Canadian Space Agency
Tel: (450) 926-4370
E-mail: monique.billette{at}space.gc.ca

Dr. Jaymie Matthews
Associate Professor Physics & Astronomy
University of British Columbia and Mission Scientist
MOST Space Telescope Project
(604) 822-2696
matthews{at}astro.ubc.ca

 - END OF FILE -
==========

@Message posted automagically by IMTHINGS POST 1.30
---