On August 3rd, The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) revealed that C-COM had won a research grant for research into phased array antenna technology as part of the Canadian Space Technology Development Program’s “Advanced technologies” stream. The Program, according to the CSA, is intended to “support the growth of the Canadian space industry and to reduce technological unknowns” in ways that will help the Canadian Space Program.
C-COM’s iNetVu mobile satellite antennas have been a staple in remote parts of Canada for decades. But the phased array antennas they’ve been developing with the University of Waterloo’s Center for Intelligence Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) are something very different.
As discussed previously on SpaceQ, phased array antennas exploit interference between radio waves to “target” both the transmission and reception of signals without needing mechanical targeting. They’re already used in things like terrestrial broadcasting and naval radar. CIARS’ and C-COM’s innovation is to employ sets of 4×4 arrays that work as “intelligent modules”, synchronized together to create larger arrays. These larger arrays can quickly track comparatively large number of individual satellites for both reception and transmission, allowing users to take full advantage of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations. They can even be used on mobile platforms like cars and planes. Some arrays could be small enough to put on a phone.
Thanks to a previous $6 million grant (half from NSERC, half from C-COM) CIARS has made a lot of progress on the development and testing of the arrays, including several patents on technology and materials. In an interview with SpaceQ, C-COM CEO Dr. Leslie Klein said that this new non-repayable contribution of $1 million from CSA may take them the rest of the way.
Klein said that he was confident that this funding would get them over the finish line. The money, after it’s passed along to CIARS, will be used to pay for the time of several post-docs (as well as grad students) to finish the first prototype, and get it through pattern testing. It will also be used for the 32×32 element active antenna, which is large enough to deliver what Klein called a “respectable” amount of bandwidth.
In particular, the goal is to test with Telesat’s LEO satellites. Klein said that “We have tested in a lab, we know what to expect … but the real test will be over satellite, where we will be able to verify with a real satellite. Then we’ll put the same thing on a vehicle and do the same tests. This should happen by the end of this year.” At the moment, Telesat is on hold, but Klein pointed out that they do have a usable test satellite. Assuming that all goes well, they should have a commercial product by the end of next year — just as the CSA funding concludes.
Klein is excited at what that could mean. C-COM is planning two types of antennas: a larger active antenna, and a small passive antenna with both low cost of materials and low power requirements. This would allow for both commercial and consumer-level applications of these low-profile and mobile satellite antennas, including (as the CSA would know) potential use in spacecraft. Klein believes that this could be a “revolutionary” communications technology, especially once production costs go down. CIARS has conceded all the patent rights to C-COM, putting C-COM in a potentially valuable market position; while CIARS’ researchers’ benefit from the immense prestige of creating globally competitive technology. Plus, Klein said that they’ve also got a place waiting for them at C-COM if they want it.