The president of the Canadian Space Agency has announced his resignation.
Steve MacLean will leave the agency, where he has served since 2008, on Feb. 1.
MacLean will be working with a new company that will be created by Mike Lazaridis, the founder and co-chair of Research in Motion.
In his new role, the astronaut and physicist will lead a highly specialized research and development team looking into breakthroughs in quantum physics.
MacLean is one of the six original astronauts of the Canadian Astronaut Program, created in 1983. He took part in two space missions before becoming president of the CSA.
