Grants and Contributions

Low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations currently under development will require the use of high-speed optical inter-satellite links to move vast amounts of data within the satellite mesh. To achieve this, satellite optical terminals will need to have precision acquisition and tracking capability to establish and maintain the tightly focused optical communications links.

COM DEV will develop the Optical Pointing and Tracking Relay Assembly for Communication (OPTRAC) system to provide the necessary fine pointing, tracking, point-ahead and optical fibre coupling to receive and transmit communication signals between optical terminals.

There are around 20,000 human-made Resident Space Objects (RSOs) in orbit around Earth. This includes functioning satellites, as well as non-functional pieces of debris, and these numbers are continuing to rise. It is important to track the location of RSOs in order to prevent potential collisions and damage to functioning satellites. Currently, only small portions of the sky can be monitored by space-based RSO detectors, and Earth-based detectors are limited by cloud cover and daylight cycles.

Magellan Aerospace proposes to adapt commercial star trackers, a type of sensor used for high-accuracy pointing in satellites, to detect and track RSOs. Using star trackers is an attractive solution, since almost every satellite in orbit could contribute to the RSO database using existing onboard hardware with no interruption to the satellite's main mission. This technology would greatly enrich the RSO monitoring database and can lead to reduced incidence of RSO collisions through improved monitoring and early warnings.

The purpose of this grant is to provide support to a Canadian user of the ASTROSAT satellite. This project is based on the observations of composite stellar systems in the environment of the Virgo and Coma cluster of galaxies.

The Command & Data Handling (C&DH) unit is a satellite's control centre, providing the spacecraft platform with control and monitoring of all subsystems. With the increase in demand for smaller platforms and constellations, more compact and capable C&DH units are required. As a result, a significant amount of innovation is needed to combine all of the necessary functions into a smaller, more compact unit.

MDA will develop new portions of the C&DH unit, while creating innovative methods to reduce mass, power, cost, and resource utilization, and maximizing performance, reliability and flexibility.

Future exploration of our solar system will require continuous innovation and improvements to in-space propulsion.

Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Aethera Technologies is developing critical technology for advanced in-space electric propulsion. Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR®) technology has extremely low fuel consumption and much higher performance when compared with conventional chemical propulsion or other electric rockets. The technology offers economic and operational advantages in space commerce, including satellite deployment, re-boost services, refurbishment, and end-of-life disposal. This technology advances humanity's evolution beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) and significantly contributes to the world's technology base for the exploration of space. Leveraging Aethera's expertise in the field of High-Power Radio Frequency systems, the project focuses on the development of Radio Frequency Power Processing Units with extremely high electrical energy conversion efficiencies and mass density.

The use of electric orbit raising, instead of chemical propulsion, after launch and separation of the satellite from the launcher to reach the geostationary orbit allows reducing propellant mass, and therefore increasing the maximum allowable spacecraft dry mass. However, today's existing electric propulsion pointing systems are limited in their degrees of freedom and are available at a high price.

MDA will develop the Three Axis Deployable Stationary Plasma Thruster Module (TSM), allowing an intensive and efficient use of electric propulsion on telecommunications satellites, both for the orbit-raising phase and the station-keeping manoeuvres. The TSM is a very versatile system, able to re-point thrusters continuously during multiple years of in-orbit life, and benefits from past developments of actuators qualified for constellation missions' antennas.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the intersection of sensors, connectivity, and powerful data analytics used to collect and exchange data for various purposes, including business decisions. For industries with global operations – such as shipping and logistics, natural resource exploration, or transportation – the high cost of satellite connectivity prevents IoT solutions from being deployed and providing economic and business improvements.

Kepler will develop low-cost antenna technology – a reconfigurable reflect array – for satellite communications. This technology will enable mobile communications with a low-cost satellite network, and facilitate connectivity for millions of IoT devices.

Mass and size have always been design drivers for space applications. Launch costs and a continuous drive towards increased on-orbit capability mean that a significant premium is placed on any reduction in mass and/or volume of a product.

COM DEV will develop a new output network targeting a 30% reduction in mass and size. The output network is a collection of hardware utilized for recombining high-power amplified signals into a uniform beam for broadcast back to Earth. This proposed miniaturized output network will introduce novel designs, new materials and processes, and streamlined manufacturability for schedule and cost.

Directing intelligent efforts in the fight against climate change demands more and more accurate climate critical data.

Calibration blackbodies in infrared Earth observation instruments help ensure the accuracy of radiometric measurements, which can be used to reveal changes over time in our atmosphere and landscape. This project will evaluate and validate two new technologies that could greatly improve the radiometric accuracy of calibration blackbodies.

Inertial navigation is a technology that allows vehicles to determine how their position has changed over time, without needing to use outside resources (such as GPS). Currently, spacecraft operators must rely on external references such as radio tracking for navigation, but a method of autonomous navigation is highly desired for situations where ground-based communications are not possible.

However, all current inertial navigation instruments suffer from an unavoidable drifting bias, causing a position error in the navigation solution which grows rapidly with time. The inaccuracy grows after a few hours to a level that is unacceptable for most space flight applications, especially for long-term exploration-class missions to other planets. Recently, Gedex developed a method using a pair of gimballed accelerometers that completely eliminates the drifting bias, slowing down the degradation of the navigation solution to the point where it can be useable for weeks or months. This revolutionary capability has immediate applications for asteroid exploration and long-duration, low-thrust space flight to other planets, and eventual applications for planetary rover exploration.