Contributions awarded under the STDP – AO 7
Funding for space research and development
In , the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) awarded $16 million in funding to 27 Canadian companies, including 25 SMEs, to pioneer research and development (R&D) for 29 advanced space technology projects. A description of the projects, selected companies, and funding amounts are presented below under four categories:
- Space Research and Development: Advanced technologies
- Space Research and Development: Small Businesses
- Space Research and Development: Next-Wave Technologies
- Space Research and Development: Quantum Technologies
This funding initiative aims to:
- use space to drive broader economic growth by enhancing Canada's space sector through the scaling up of firms, increasing the commercial potential, supporting the creation of high-paying middle-class jobs, providing support for small firms, and
- increase the readiness level of several promising space technologies.
Space Research and Development: Advanced Technologies
The companies were awarded non-repayable contributions of up to $1 million for advanced space technologies. These projects are expected to last up to three years and produce economic benefits in the next two to five years.
| Company | Contribution value | Project |
|---|---|---|
| BTI Chalk River, Ontario |
$655,166 | Light Readout Technologies for Space-Bound Radiation Spectrometers |
| C6 Launch Systems Strathroy Ontario |
$653,660 | Advanced Laser Joining Techniques for Cryogenic Compatible Materials |
| Calian Advanced Technologies Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
$520,205 | High Performance RF Over IP |
| Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Chalk River, Ontario |
$999,831 | Advanced multifunctional materials for space applications (shielding and containment) |
| Canadian Space Mining Corporation Toronto, Ontario |
$1,000,000 | Fission Power |
| EarthDaily Analytics Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia |
$999,993 | Advanced Thermal Band Calibration and Processing for Small Satellite Missions |
| GHGSat Inc. Montreal, Quebec |
$1,000,000 | Pointing Mirror for Wide-Angle Fabry-Pérot Spectrometer |
| Kepler Communications Inc. Toronto, Ontario |
$1,000,000 | Development of Edge Computing Capability |
| Maya Heat Transfert Technologies Ltd. Westmount, Quebec |
$549,278 | Next Generation Methods for Environmental Heating Evaluation in Spacecraft Thermal Analysis |
| MDA Ste-Anne Montreal, Quebec |
$1,000,000 | Advanced Antenna and Electronic Technologies for Dually Polarized Direct Radiating Arrays |
| MDA Headquarters Brampton, Ontario |
$1,000,000 | End of Arm Compliance Mechanism (ECM) |
| Teledyne Optech Vaughan, Ontario |
$1,000,000 | Advances in 3D Imaging Lidar for Space Applications |
Space Research and Development: Small Businesses
The small businesses (up to a maximum of 50 employees) were awarded non-repayable contributions of up to $250,000. These space R&D projects are expected to last up to three years and produce economic benefits in the next five to 10 years.
| Company | Contribution value | Project |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. Fredericton, New Brunswick |
$190,095 | Enabling Accurate Landing for CubeSat Re-Entry and Satellite Reusability |
| Complex System Inc. Calgary, Alberta |
$247,500 | Satellite edge analytic platform for scalable AI |
| Edgehog Advanced Technologies Montreal, Quebec |
$243,830 | Development of next-generation anti-reflection nanotexturing on alternative space glass |
| Eternal Light Photonics Corp. Westmount, Quebec |
$250,000 | Laser Development for a Spaceborne Optical Wireless Power Transmission System |
| Nüvü Caméras Montreal, Quebec |
$250,000 | Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Controller for Counting Photons |
| Obruta Space Solutions Corp. Ottawa, Ontario |
$222,398 | Computer Vision for Autonomous Spacecraft Docking |
| Obruta Space Solutions Corp. Ottawa, Ontario |
$222,381 | Guidance, Navigation, and Control for Autonomous Spacecraft Docking |
| Qoherent Markham, Ontario |
$250,000 | Machine learning based beamforming algorithms for satellite communications |
| TransEON Inc. Edmonton, Alberta |
$250,000 | GaN MOSFET MMICs for Next-Generation Spaceborne RF Applications |
Space Research and Development: Next-Wave Technologies
The companies were awarded non-repayable contributions of up to $500,000 per next-wave space technology project. These R&D projects are expected to last up to three years and produce economic benefits in the next five to 10 years.
| Company | Contribution value | Project |
|---|---|---|
| GHGSat Inc. Montreal, Quebec |
$272,658 | Innovative Miniaturized Instrument for Satellite-Based Methane Monitoring |
| Kilncore Inc. Sutton, Quebec |
$500,000 | Kilncore Fusion: High-Temperature Powder Transformation System |
| Laboratoire Reaction Dynamics Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec |
$450,000 | Development of Enabling Technologies for a High-Performance Upper Stage for an Orbital Launch Vehicle |
| Mission Control Space Services Inc. Ottawa, Ontario |
$499,825 | Towards Autonomous Capabilities for Orbital Servicing |
Space Research and Development: Quantum Technologies
The companies were awarded non-repayable contributions of up to $500,000 per quantum technology project. These R&D projects are expected to generate commercial potential in the next five to 10 years.
| Company | Contribution value | Project |
|---|---|---|
| evolutionQ Inc. Waterloo, Ontario |
$270,249 | Integrated Fiber and QKD Network Laboratory Environment |
| QEYnet Inc. Maple, Ontario |
$499,905 | Vulnerability Mitigation of a Quantum Source for Space-Based Quantum Communication |
| SBQuantum Sherbrooke, Quebec |
$500,000 | MagQSpace - high accuracy diamond magnetometry for space exploration |
| Single Quantum Systems Inc. Kitchener, Ontario |
$500,000 | Impact of orbital radiation on next-generation high-performance semiconductor nanowire single-photon detectors |
These funds were awarded through the CSA's Space Technology Development Program (STDP), which supports innovation for the growth of the Canadian space sector and aims to reduce technological unknowns of future space missions. Contribution agreements are issued to Canadian organizations to support the development of innovative technologies with strong commercial potential. As part of a competitive process, proposals are selected based on the applicant's (mainly industry) capacity to advance the development of specific space technologies for which they receive financial support of up to 75% of their project cost.