ICARUS campaign
From to , 6 meteorological balloons carrying five Canadian payloads and 13 high-school experiments will be launched from the Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base, Ontario to test new technologies, conduct science experiments and take measurements from the stratosphere.
The goal of the campaign is to provide students with a unique opportunity to design, build and test small payloads before they are launched aboard a stratospheric expandable balloon system, provided by the Canadian Space Agency, up to 35 km in altitude. As part of the project, the teams are introduced to engineering processes, such as technical progress reports, in different phases. The campaign provides an amazing way to develop STEM skills and an exciting opportunity to inspire students in engineering and sciences.
List of payloads
CAN-SBX Challenge:
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CD-SAM (Compact Deployable Solar Array Mechanism)
- Organization: Atmotech, University of Alberta
- Objective: Demonstration of a deployable and stowable solar array designed for the stratospheric environment.
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SHAYMIN (Stratospheric Helium Aircraft Yielding Microsatellite Investigating Nanoparticle)
- Organization: PolyOrbite, Polytechnique Montréal
- Objectives:
- Measurements of gamma rays;
- Quantification of magnetometer for CubeSat applications.
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SPACEY (Stratospheric Polarization Analysis for Calculating Electromagnetic Yaw)
- Organization: University of British Columbia Okanagan
- Objective: Investigation of atmospheric effects on RF transmission from stratospheric altitudes
The University of British Columbia Okanagan team that worked on SPACEY. (Credit: SPACEY team, University of British Columbia, Okanagan )
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StratoGene
- Organization: McMaster Advanced Space Systems, McMaster University
- Objectives:
- Quantification of several atmospheric parameters (e.g., radiation) in stratosphere; and
- Investigation of the impacts of those parameters on microbial genome, gene expression, and transcription.
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StratoNeers
- Organization: University of British Columbia Okanagan
- Objective: Investigation and quantification of bit flips in various cell architectures.
The University of British Columbia Okanagan team that worked on StratoNeers. (Credit: StratoNeers team, University of British Columbia, Okanagan )
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Science Timmins
- Organization: Science Timmins
- Objectives: Thirteen experiments from eighteen high-school students studying UV rays, stratospheric photography, air pressure and humidity, and atmospheric gases
Contact
Should you have any questions regarding the STRATOS program, contact us at stratos_administration@asc-csa.gc.ca.