Grants and Contributions

(20STDPK21) As the commercial small-sat market grows, new affordable systems are needed to maintain high-performance communication links between launch vehicles, satellites, and data relay systems. As such, C6 Launch Systems has designed, built, and tested a prototype phased-array and transceiver system that allows spacecraft to electronically steer radio beams towards earth and space-based stations to provide high-performance data links. This project elevates the technology readiness level (TRL) of the phased-array and transceiver system through design enhancements, scale-up and laboratory qualification tests.

This project will facilitate performance improvements on the C6 Launch vehicle and unveil the technologies as a revolutionary phased-array and transceiver technology for launch vehicles and nanosatellites, thereby, positioning Canadian industry as trailblazers.

(20STDPL01) A force moment sensor provides a robotic arm with sense of payload resistance. The space environment is particularly difficult, for a variety of reasons: extreme thermal environment, large payloads on long robotic arm, capture of free flyers.

This stage of our work in developing a sensor drift free sensor is to provide a simulator, in parallel with hardware development. There is much advanced work in AI and controls which needs the characteristics of such a sensor, before it needs the actual hardware. So as we progress in experimental development, we are updating the simple matlab simulation which has been developed, initially to reflect analytical characteristics developed from earlier prototype responses, now being updated to reflect measured characteristics of 3rd prototype. In particular to reflect test results of the low torsion loads.

This simulator will be used to try and optimize the calibration testing needed for continued prototype testing.

Robotic control for the Lunar Gateway Station will be heavily dependent of force sensing, because of bandwidth limitations and because it will be under autonomous operation for most of each year.

(20STDPL07) The project will demonstrate that a pointing mirror can be used to simultaneously reduce the detection threshold, increase coverage and increase capacity of the Wide Angle Fabry-Perot (WAF-P) spectrometer.
The project will define requirements, develop a design, then build and test an engineering model of the pointing mirror. The project builds on strong heritage from GHGSat for the WAF-PI, ABB for the pointing mirror, and Xiphos for onboard processors and related software. If successful, GHGSat intends to fly the pointing mirror as an experimental payload on one of its constellation mission satellites.

(20STDPM01) Space debris is becoming a growing and ever more present issue as low Earth orbit continues to become populated with an increasing number of satellites and other objects each year.

Currently, there exists no established methods or services for actively capturing and removing debris on-orbit. The only methods to avoid collisions are to maneuvers endangered satellites out of possible collisions and to wait for debris to de-orbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere. This feasibility study is proposing the research and development of novel tether and net technology for the capture and stabilization of unstable and high-risk debris. The system boasts the ability to capture and stabilize debris tumbling about all of its three axes, the ability to capture multiple objects in a single mission, and to change the altitude of captured debris to remove them from the operational orbits of other satellites.

(20STDPM02) This project will perform a feasibility study of how to develop and produce high frequency beamforming integrated circuits (ICs) for phased array antennas for small satellites. These electrically steerable antennas utilized in satellites have the potential to enable high-throughput, low-cost, and low-latency connectivity services. Implementing such steerable antennas as ICs can alleviate the high cost of RF components such that the per-component cost is greatly reduced.

(20STDPK01) Burloak will develop and establish a “space”-centric Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) process for Additive Manufactured (AM) components focusing on two strategic metal alloys for the space industry; Aluminum and Titanium.

The HIP process technology is used primarily to improve the material properties to an acceptable level (i.e. to reduce porosity in manufactured AM components).

This project will position Burloak as Canadian commercial suppliers providing HIP services for any industry

(20STDPK33) This STDP focuses on the definition and development of payload units required to implement a beam hopping system, will design and prototype a complex subsystem to enable flexibility in future communication payloads.

The technology solution will provide satellite operators the capability to dynamically maximize capacity utilization factor for each High Throughput User beam by adjusting dwell time and subsequent bits allocated to each User beam in response to traffic request, thus to allow the cost per bit performance metric of a High Throughput payload to be competitive with that offered by other LEO and MEO satellite constellations, as well by terrestrial communication systems.

This work will position Canada as a leader in emerging flexible payload market and provide new export opportunity to Canada.

(20STDPM06) This project will investigate applications of machine intelligence to accelerate the evaluation and training systems for the configuration of model based tracking systems (also known as non-cooperative tracking). This will accelerate time to market for satellite rendezvous and proximity operations tools.

Enhancements to evaluation tools will allow significant increases in analysis capabilities which will both accelerate time to solutions and provide opportunities for improvements to mission safety and quality assurance.

The outputs of this study will result in significantly faster development of tracking configurations and algorithms, providing a key enabling technology to allow autonomous vehicles to engage in orbital debris removal, satellite servicing, and construction in LEO and beyond.

(20STDPM08) This project, in collaboration with McMaster University and supported by the National Research Council of Canada, will address key issues encountered with conventional electronic beamforming networks (BFN) used in space-based Radio-Frequency phased array antennas, popular in recent low cost, large, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation projects.

It will evaluate feasibility of using photonic integrated circuits to implement an innovative BFN architecture. A higher level of integration in photonic circuits leads to smaller BFN dimensions and lower cost. It will implement also true time delay within the BFN, which eliminates frequency specific behavior of beam shaping. Large bandwidth performances will be much improved over wide scan angles for operations in LEO.
The project will contribute in providing cost effective solution for mega-constellations.

(20STDPN10) The growing small satellite market calls for reliable, affordable launch services to get spacecraft to orbit quickly and safely, but the current availability of these services is limited. To address this issue, Reaction Dynamics' launch vehicle is designed to provide dedicated orbital launch services for small satellites at a quarter of the price of current competitors. The company's technological breakthrough makes hybrid rocket engines feasible for orbital launch applications.

This contribution will enable critical improvements to the catalyst system, making it simpler and more efficient, while reducing the mass to make it usable on an orbital rocket engine. The applications of this technology could also lead to the development of spin-off projects in the satellite propulsion market.