ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — C-CORE’s advancements in satellite technology is getting a shot in the arm from the federal and provincial governments.
The multi-disciplinary research and development organization is receiving nearly $3.2 million to help it build capacity to collect data from small satellites (smallsats) that orbit the earth for observation purposes such as environmental monitoring that benefit researcher, industry and government.
Using comparably small-scale ground stations, C-CORE is extracting large amounts of data from the orbiting smallsats which it then analyzes and interprets to more effectively monitor and measure environmental indicators, such as greenhouse and air quality gas emissions, for clients in various sectors, including resource development, transportation, and safety and security.
After successfully operating a ground station optimized for use in the Arctic in Inuvik, NWT for more than a year — receiving environmental data from more than 2000 satellite orbits — a second, enhanced ground station will be built in St. John’s and installed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay later this year.
Project partners include Natural Resources Canada (Inuvik Satellite Station Facility), the College of the North Atlantic, Boeing Phantom Works, Nova-Consult and GHGSat Inc.
“As demand grows for information to support priorities such as business intelligence and environmental stewardship, a new generation of small satellites is meeting this need, C-CORE’s new ground stations provide a matching solution — smaller, cheaper and more easily deployable,” Paul Griffin, president and CEO, stated in a release.
Ottawa, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Atlantic Innovation Fund, is contributing $2,679,577 while the province is kicking in $500,000 through Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
