Grants and Contributions

Rocket Lab Toronto has successfully manufactured and sold ST-16RT2 star trackers to the global small satellite market for 10 years. The ST-16TR2 product is well positioned for low Earth orbit missions, however, it was not designed for missions operating in more severe environments. Following Rocket Labs “careful COTS” approach, this project will undertake research, selection, and tests of commercial components to qualify them for severe environments. These components will be used to develop a new star tracker product suitable for a broader range of environments, increasing the market accessible to Rocket Lab star tracker products. This development will benefit Canada by providing a sovereign star tracker product for satellite missions. It is also the first step towards further developments of the product for future Space Situational Awareness purposes that is critical in providing Canadians' security and defense capability.

Xiphos Systems Corporation will develop and qualify the Q9, the flagship model for Xiphos’ family of high-performance and low size, weight, and power (SWaP) COTS-based processors. It will leverage the highest performance, most robust multi-processor system on a chip (MPSoC) to date, utilizing Xiphos’ reliable space architecture to handle applications with the highest processing, data distribution, and storage requirements. The scale and rapid deployment timelines make standardized, flexible commercial products like the Q9 critical to the Canadian and international space industry.

Access to improved navigation and time is paramount to the modernization and automation of several industries, including agriculture, natural resource management (mining), and transportation. This project focusses on development of Xona-enabled user equipment (receiver) technology for use within heavy industry applications, in particular precision agriculture and mining. This includes field-testing of the signals and hardware, testing of live satellite transmissions, and development of an in-house Xona PULSAR receiver. The in-house receiver will serve as a baseline to showcase various features and Xona capabilities to industry leaders and to enable demonstration of resilient high precision positioning within the agricultural and mining industries. These domains represent major pillars of Canadian industry and are also the expected early adopters of Xona’s technology. By implementing and field-testing this receiver with actual PULSAR satellite signals, Xona will prepare its technology for expansion into the larger Canadian and global business and industrial contexts.

Lasers are frequently used to measure displacement. We have developed a novel frequency-modulated laser interferometer (SFM) capable of measuring up to 8 independent axes using a single laser/detector. The performance has been validated at cryogenic temperatures (4 K) and the concept adopted for the PRIMA mission concept under review by NASA. The accuracy of the SFM technique depends on knowledge of the central frequency of the laser about which it is modulated. The modulation frequency range required for our method is 100× greater than existing calibration methods, requiring a fundamentally new approach. The objectives are to implement a novel calibration strategy for the SFM technique and verify it against two lasers (HeNe, the gold standard, and a locked DFB) at levels of <1 ppm. Benefits to Canadians would be to leverage this work to secure a role in the NASA PRIMA mission. We have already received expressions of interest from the Composites Research Network which includes Tier 1 partner Boeing.

EMCCD imaging technology stands apart from competing technologies with its ability to efficiently count photons. Its closest competitor is CMOS technology which is attracting more and more interest. The brain of a camera is its controller, the electronics that support the detector. Canadian company Nüvü Cameras manufactures the world's most sensitive imaging solutions with its photon-counting controllers. Through this project, Nüvü Caméras will develop a spatial camera solution integrating its new CMOS controller for photon counting. Various complex challenges occur in adequately supporting ultra-sensitive detectors in the space environment. Nüvü Caméras stands out for its unique ability to deal with demanding, low-flux applications. By carrying out this project, Canadian capability will secure its leadership position by expanding its ability to support another innovative imaging technology in sensitivity with its renowned expertise in photon counting imaging.

This project involves building a very realistic simulator tool to generate the most accurate imagery possible. This imagery will be used to improve, train, and test advanced computer vision algorithms and AI models. Obruta’s computer vision and RPOD Kit will make spaceflight safer and more sustainable by enabling space debris removal, refuelling satellites already in orbit, recycling old satellites, and space domain awareness.

This project will take the designs to TRL4 level, with prototype modules designed and assembled for benchtop testing. The up and down converters will be integrated into a single module. In addition, a space rated microcontroller for controlling our flight ready UDCs will be added. The integrated UDC will be benchtop tested. The controller hardware will be designed as a prototype PCBA to interface to the converter modules.

The magnetic field is a ubiquitous resource that is essential to navigation and resource exploration, both on Earth and in space. One of the main challenges of magnetic sensing in space environments is to combine high precision and high efficiency on a vector magnetometry platform in order to extend the estimation of navigational magnetic charts and mineral resources to extraterrestrial applications. HEQASPAN builds on SBQuantum's efforts to prepare a diamond-based quantum magnetometer for LEO by refining the energy efficiency and accuracy of the sensor from a resource-limited cubesat platform. SBQ will develop and implement new quantum control and readout pulse sequences to optimize sensor efficiency and precision, unlocking the deployment of small cubesat constellations. Future constellations will enable the production of high-precision, high-refresh rate magnetic navigation charts for the Northern Territories while providing drone-compatible technology for mineral exploration in challenging remote areas.

The proposed project advances Wyvern’s proprietary deployable optics technology wherein optical components of an Earth observation (EO) payload are stowed compactly on launch and unfurled in orbit. The smaller, lighter resultant payload minimizes cost of launch. This enables cost-efficient collection of high-quality hyperspectral imagery – imagery with a large number of bands – of the Earth. Project objectives include design, test, and characterization of lightweight composite material mechanisms for deployment of optical surfaces and accompanying baffling. This project will improve the space-readiness of these components aimed for use in a future generation of Wyvern satellites.

The specific objectives and deliverables of the project are:
a. design and build a suitable VBG based device for LEO-LEO intersatellite links.
b. Characterize and verify the device in a laboratory.
c. Demonstrate reliability through environment TVAC/shock/vibe testing.
d. Design an overall system architecture to integrate the VBG into Honeywell’s existing OISL terminal.