Grants and Contributions

Low profile (“flat panel”) Electronically Scanned Antenna (ESA) array system offers an attractive solution for broadband mobile HTS-SATCOM applications, particularly for LEO satellite networks. It is low profile can electronically steer the beam to a desired direction when the satellite, ground terminal, or both are mobile, without any mechanical movement. Recent advancements in planar antenna and silicon technologies provide reliable fabrication methods for compact low-profile multi-antenna modules incorporating multi-channel monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC), the active phased array (A-PAA) system becomes a highly promising solution for Ka-band mobile SATCOM. To make A-PAA cost-effective and mass-producible for commercial market deployment, a new modular/scalable and software definable architecture for A-PAA is developed in this project.

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) aims at creating shared cryptographic keys by exploiting the fundamental laws of quantum physics. Terrestrial QKD networks suffer from a limitation related to the maximal possible physical distance between directly connected nodes. Satellite based QKD network is an answer to this call. Secure-key sharing can be achieved between ground stations located across the nation in a timely, reliable and economical way with QKD-capable satellites. However, compared to its optical fibre-based counterpart, a satellite QKD network has a time-varying network topology and fluctuating QKD key generating capacities between the satellites and ground stations. This brings in unique new challenges related to planning and operations. Factors such as weather conditions, seasonal effects, and many others need to be taken into consideration in designing and running the system in the most effective and economical way. The project aims at developing the tools needed to solve such challenges, mainly through QKD network control technologies, optimization algorithms, their software implementation, and integration with QKD hardware.

This project focuses on the development of an Intelligent Power Switch (Intelligent Switch) for use in stratospheric balloon power sub-systems. The Intelligent Switch will provide autonomous output load protection in both short circuit and over current cases, as well as autonomously shut down during an overvoltage or undervoltage condition. In addition, an integrated telemetry system will provide on demand voltage, current, power and temperature for each switch via a serial interface. The Intelligent Switch will simplify the design of stratospheric balloon power subsystems by integrating autonomous load safety features with telemetry and command via a serial bus interface.

The HiDRON Suborbital Space Plane

Stratodynamics is collaborating with researchers at the University of Waterloo to reengineer their remotely deployed stratospheric glider known as the HiDRON. To date, the record setting HiDRON unmanned aerial system (UAS) has successfully deployed a number of scientific payloads to the stratosphere and back. However, flight in such low density atmosphere is fraught with laminar airflow challenges and control issues.

This collaboration will produce a new iteration of the HiDRON, custom designed for this poorly understood flight regime. The CSA grant will enable development and testing of the airframe at stratospheric altitudes.

The Canadian aviation community will benefit from the aerodynamic advances arising from this collaboration as the altitudinal ceiling of commercial airspace rises closer to near space.

Computer vision (CV) tasks (e.g. image classification and object detection) enable autonomous decision-making for a range of space applications and platforms, such as rovers, landers, and service vehicles, and reduce the workload and risks associated with humans in any decision-making loop. Such applications rely on high-performance Artificial Intelligence (AI) capability.

Recent advancements in AI have leveraged the nearly limitless computational resources of cloud computing, and as such the resultant solutions are not inherently transferrable, or optimally designed, to be hosted onboard satellite platforms which have very constrained resources. This project will develop a reconfigurable AI capability that supports CV tasks and is optimized to be hosted as part of a portable system using hardware with a path to space-qualification. The results of this project will support a range of future scenarios including imaging support for autonomous space vehicle docking, decision support for autonomous probes or landers, autonomous robotic systems, satellite star trackers as well as remote sensing targeting decision support.

Wyvern is developing technology which will enable an optical telescope to unfold in space, allowing to deliver higher quality images of earth from even smaller satellites. Upon deployment from a stowed position, the increased light collecting area of the primary mirror would allow to take images with a higher spectral content. Essentially, it would allow to build an inexpensive satellite with the data performance of a much larger and more expensive one.
Currently, farmers pay significant fees to specialist companies to fly airplanes and drones over their fields to determine crop health and vitality. This would be more convenient and affordable from a satellite platform. Currently there are no satellites that provide fully suitable products. Wyvern is developing a solution that will change this.

Although night environmental conditions can be extreme and fluctuate drastically compared to daytime conditions, for an observation planned months in advance, everything must perform at the expected time.

Up to now, Canada has been ahead of the curve with its unrivalled capability in ultra-sensitive imaging thanks to the Nüvü Cameras and this work will expand its ability to support detectors under difficult conditions.

The project will enhance the opportunity for Canadian imaging technology to be considered in future terrestrial solutions to detect and track space debris or demonstrate the optimal performance of the technology in stratospheric balloon and observatory tests, an important feature for being included in future space exploration and surveillance missions.

The objective of the proposed project is to develop a space-qualified gallium nitride (GaN) integrated circuit platform capable of exceptional performance for next-generation satellite communications and spaceborne radar systems. In particular, upon completion of this project, the proposed GaN transistor chip platform will be operable at significantly higher frequencies and signal power levels than existing platforms. More specifically, the proposed chip platform will be capable of operating in challenging millimetre-wave frequency bands, enabling substantial improvements to the bandwidth of future low Earth orbit (LEO) satcom constellations for enhanced satellite internet in rural areas. It is anticipated that the GaN MOSFET will offer first-in-class performance, exceeding that of competing platforms in both terrestrial and space environments, while simultaneously providing indigenous commercial semiconductor manufacturing capability in Canada.

The number of satellites and debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is increasing rapidly over time and few options exist to remove or mitigate their presence. Therefore, Space Situational Awareness (SSA) of objects in the vicinity of (or on course toward) a host satellite or space station is becoming more important, to improve risk management through advanced planning of active manoeuvres and to generally understand the debris population in LEO, for which there is a gap in publicly available information for objects below 10 cm cross-section.
MDA will develop and characterize a compact hemispherical lens assembly coupled to an innovative and high-sensitivity detector. The performance of the hemispherical camera will push range and resolution beyond what is available elsewhere. This project is a key stepping stone for MDA to develop a future multi-sensor SSA product that allows operators to survey and react to objects in their asset's vicinity, creating Canadian capability at the forefront of technology that supports understanding and mitigation of the growing problem of LEO over-population.

Investigations of critical problems in both atmospheric science and astronomy are limited by the most basic problem of optical calibration: the precision of measurements of the brightness of the light sources. Is it possible to greatly improve precision of measurements of the magnitude of stars supernovae, and other astronomical sources, so that we can understand and calibrate measurements of the accelerating expansion of the Universe, measure various properties of Earth's atmosphere better, and furthermore create a new type of miniature stratospheric hub for telecommunication?

To improve the precision of measurements of brightness, this project builds on the Canadian CubeSat Project - ORCASat experience to develop a novel low-cost, hand-launched miniature stratospheric airship platform capability with impact across the diverse fields of astronomy, telecommunications, Earth observation, and the science of Earth's atmosphere. After the achievement of the astrophysical goals, the project team will utilize the unique ability to persistently remain over a region to provide low-cost miniature stratospheric hubs for Canadian and worldwide regional communication, and for Earth and atmospheric observation.