COM DEV International Ltd., a company that provides space hardware subsystems, made a recent announcement that the MDA-built Sapphire satellite has been successfully sent into space along with a COM DEV-designed-and-built optical payload onboard.
The company supplied the optical payload for the Sapphire satellite, consisting of the Optical Imaging Subsytem (OIS) and the Data Handling and Control Subsystem (DHCS). The OIS is a visible-band telescope integrated with a low noise preamplifier and a focal plane that will gather a series of images for each target object in space. Meanwhile, the DHCS has primary and redundant electronics which can correct the images that have been captured, then compress the image data before its transmission to a ground station for further processing.
In a statement, COM DEV International CEO Michael Pley said: “We are pleased to have made a major contribution to a satellite that is a first for the Canadian Department of National Defence. We are privileged to have had the opportunity to apply our world class optical systems expertise to this important operational mission.”
The Sapphire satellite is said to be the very first dedicated operational military satellite of the Canadian Department of National Defence. The space-based, electro-optical sensor spacecraft will keep track of man-made space objects in Earth orbit as part of the nation’s continued support of Space Situational Awareness. Collected data from the Canadian military satellite will contribute to the U.S Space Surveillance Network, improving the ability of both countries to detect and prevent the collision of critical space platforms with other satellites or pieces of debris in space.
Recommended additional reading:
