Grant: Alliance Grants
The University of Western Ontario
$64,424.00
Automated ground-based observations of low Earth orbit satellite constellations
FY 2024-25
Summary
The region of low Earth orbit (LEO) includes all objects orbiting within 2000km of the Earth's surface. In the last decade, activity in LEO has grown exponentially, primarily due to the increasing number of space debris, and more recently, deployment of large commercial constellations of small satellites. These "megaconstallations" now include thousands of satellites, each the size of a table and weighing several hundred kilograms (Boley and Byers, 2021a). Companies such as SpaceX, Amazon and Canada's Telesat have plans and permission to launch upwards of tens of thousands of satellites over the next decade .
The main goal of this partnership with Defence Research Development Canada (DRDC) and Western University is to provide near real-time, persistent and comprehensive measurements of satellite constellations (SATCONs) and to make this information public. This information and technical approach will be used for policy decisions within the Canadian military related to space situational awareness and at the international level through the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS).
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
586010-2023
Name nom
Brown, Peter PG
Department département
Physics and Astronomy
Organization id
36
Institution établissement
The University of Western Ontario
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2024
Competition year année de concours
2023
Award amount
64424
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
703
Area of application group en
Transportation systems and services
Area of application group fr
Services et systèmes de transport
Area of application en
Aerospace
Area of application fr
Aérospatial
Research subject code
3205
Research subject group en
Astronomy and astrophysics
Research subject group fr
Astronomie et astrophysique
Research subject en
Instrumentation
Research subject fr
Instrumentation
Field of research list names en
Not available
Field of research list names fr
Non disponible
Socioeconomic objective list names en
Not available
Socioeconomic objective list names fr
Non disponible
Application title
Automated ground-based observations of low Earth orbit satellite constellations
Keywords
satellites; space debris; space environment
Application summary
The region of low Earth orbit (LEO) includes all objects orbiting within 2000km of the Earth's surface. In the last decade, activity in LEO has grown exponentially, primarily due to the increasing number of space debris, and more recently, deployment of large commercial constellations of small satellites. These "megaconstallations" now include thousands of satellites, each the size of a table and weighing several hundred kilograms (Boley and Byers, 2021a). Companies such as SpaceX, Amazon and Canada's Telesat have plans and permission to launch upwards of tens of thousands of satellites over the next decade .
The main goal of this partnership with Defence Research Development Canada (DRDC) and Western University is to provide near real-time, persistent and comprehensive measurements of satellite constellations (SATCONs) and to make this information public. This information and technical approach will be used for policy decisions within the Canadian military related to space situational awareness and at the international level through the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS).
