How we think about the news¶
The Canadian Space isn't just a news feed. It's a commitment to how we cover aerospace: transparently, fairly, and with respect for the reader's time and intelligence. Here's what we believe—and what we won't do.
AI in the newsroom¶
We use AI to author stories. We use AI to fact-check them. We're public about it because we think it's the future of journalism, and hiding it would be dishonest.
Here's the actual workflow:
- Curation: Robo Chris (an AI persona) scans NASA feeds, SpaceFlightNews API, RSS, and launch databases. It pulls the most relevant stories.
- Authoring: An LLM (usually Google Gemini) drafts the article using structured author guidelines that enforce accuracy, tone, and sourcing.
- Human review: Chris (the human) reads every story, fact-checks using primary sources, adds context, catches errors, and either publishes or requests rewrites.
- Fact-checking pass: A second AI (fallback Claude) scans the published article for factual consistency and source alignment.
- Publishing: WordPress publishes to thecanadian.space.
- Distribution: The story goes out via RSS and TCS's social channels — one story, many audiences.
Why be transparent?
AI-assisted journalism works when readers trust it. Hiding the AI doesn't build trust—transparency does. We tell you when a story was AI-drafted because that's honest, and honest reporting is the only kind worth reading.
The human review step is non-negotiable. AI is fast and tireless. Humans catch nuance, spot bias, and ask "is this right?" Our model works because we do both.
What we celebrate (and what we won't)¶
We celebrate achievement. When Rocket Lab launches, when NASA discovers something, when a startup reaches a milestone—we tell the story. We celebrate Canadian contributions. We celebrate the audacity of trying to live off-Earth.
We don't hype. A rocket test isn't "historic" until it actually achieves something. A funding round isn't revolutionary until the company builds. We avoid adjectives that belong in marketing, not journalism.
We don't clickbait. We don't mislead headlines. We don't use ALL CAPS or fake urgency. We don't speculate as fact.
We don't scrape without attribution. If we're pulling a story, we link to it. We credit the original source—NASA, SpaceX, the Wall Street Journal, or whoever broke the news first.
We don't cover rumors unless they come from official channels (like Elon's Twitter announcements, which are de facto official). Reddit speculation about Starship? Not without confirmation.
Corrections policy¶
We get things wrong sometimes. When we do, we fix it and we tell you:
- Corrections are published as updates to the original article, with a timestamp and explanation.
- Major corrections (facts that change the meaning of the story) are flagged clearly at the top of the article.
- Sources for corrections — if a reader catches an error, email us with the source, and if it's valid, we'll correct and credit you.
Transparency means admitting when you're wrong.
Why this matters¶
Aerospace is too important to get wrong. Engineers read our site. Journalists quote us. Students learn from our articles. Policymakers might glance at our Canada coverage. That responsibility is real. So we don't take shortcuts. We fact-check. We source. We think about what we publish.
AI makes us faster. Humans make us accurate. That's the TCS difference.
Questions?¶
If you have concerns about how we cover a story, or you spot an error, reach out. We read every message.