The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Canadian Institute for Telecommunications Research (CITR) have selected the first projects stemming from a $1.9-million, potentially renewal agreement focused on leading-edge space communications systems and technologies. The CSA will provide the funds over the next five years for research awards and collaborative research initiatives involving industrial partners. The first five awards are worth $790,000, with another $210,000 from Montreal’s NSI Communications Inc, a developer and integrator supplier of VSAT (very small aperture terminal) network systems. NSI will work with Concordia Univ, Communications Research Centre and others on techniques for efficient transmission of multimedia communications via satellite. The four, two-year research awards went to researchers from Queen’s Univ, Univ of Alberta, Univ of Toronto and Carleton Univ. FMI: http://www.citr.ece.mcgill.ca/....