Four companies were awarded Canadian Space Agency (CSA) contributions for Next-Wave technologies under the Space Technology Development Program (STDP).
The STDP provides support for companies and technologies that advance the Canadian space sector in various ways, benefiting both the CSA with access to Canadian-built space technology and Canadian companies with access to cutting-edge technology with both celestial and terrestrial applications.
While many STDP are for technologies that are close to market, the “Next Wave” awards are for R&D of technologies that are at their earliest point of development: ones with a Technological Maturity Level (TML) of 3 or lower where the economic benefits are expected to be five to ten years away. This can include projects from completely new companies with fresh ideas, and comparatively established companies that are looking to get support for long-term advancement.
The projects are expected to last up to three years, and the contribution maximum is CAD$500,000.
The companies awarded for Next Wave technology in 2023 are Kilncore Inc. from Sutton QC, GHGSat Inc. from Montreal QC, Mission Control Space Services from Ottawa ON, and Laboratoire Reaction Dynamics from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC.
Kilncore
Of the list, only Kilncore is a completely new company to SpaceQ readers. Formed in 2021, they are one of the growing number of companies that are focused on In-Situ Resource Utilization(ISRU) on the lunar surface. ISRU is seen as a critical part of any long-term human presence on the Moon, owing to the difficulty and expense of bringing materials up from earth. The desire to find lunar water to create hydrogen and oxygen as space propellants is a key part of the current push to explore the Moon’s shadowed regions.
Kilncore’s $500,000 award was for “Kilncore Fusion: High-Temperature Powder Transformation System.” The Fusion is still in very early stages, but according to their online marketing materials, it is an approach to 3D printing regolith into usable structures. Powdered regolith is combined with vaporized aluminum—also present in the regolith—then highly pressurized and heated to “extreme conditions” to create “many useful solid objects.”
Additive manufacturing of everything from carbon fibre to metals isn’t new to the space industry—Relativity Space’s rockets are created one layer at a time by their enormous Stargate printers, for example—but producing it out of lunar dust would turn an omnipresent hazard into a useful resource.
Based on an earlier LSIC presentation (note: video link), which explains more about their process, Kilncore is also working on a way to perform electrolysis on regolith using their “Volcano” device. The presentation also discusses how a key product for Kilncore could be ceramic filters that aid with in-situ metal production, which can then be repurposed into everything from heat shields to road tiles.
Mission Control Space Services (Mission Control)
Mission Control won a $499,825 award “Towards Autonomous Capabilities for Orbital Servicing.” This is one of a variety of contracts and contributions they’ve received from the CSA, including their recent $3 million award through the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP) to provide AI and robotics technology, including for the recent ispace lunar landing mission. While the lander was lost just before landing, Mission Control said that they were still “delighted to have been the first organization in the world to deploy a deep-learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) in lunar orbit.”
Mission Control’s expertise in space-based AI would appear to be leveraged in this new award. On-orbit satellite servicing is increasingly important in the face of mounting concerns over ever-growing satellite constellations turning into unsustainable amounts of space debris, and several of the AO7 awards address this issue, including Obruta Space Solutions’ two Small Business awards. Turning Mission Control’s space-based AI expertise towards creating autonomous maintenance spacecraft may be vital for future satellite constellation management to enhance lifespan and prevent debris.
GHGSat
GHGSat received a $272,658 contribution for an “Innovative Miniaturized Instrument for Satellite-Based Methane Monitoring.” GHGSat is already known as one of the world’s premiere space-based methane-monitoring companies, racking up significant wins for their clients and significant new contracts, including a new task order for NASA announced just recently. They also received a $1m contribution for a “Pointing Mirror for Wide-Angle Fabry-Pérot Spectrometer” as part of the Advanced Technologies awards for AO7.
SpaceQ reached out to GHGSat for information on the “miniaturized instrument,” but received no response ahead of publication. It’s quite likely, however, that this is the next evolution of their existing methane-monitoring payloads. As they’ve transitioned away from launching their own satellites and towards adding their payloads to Spire’s satellite buses, GHGSat can focus their efforts on improving their payload technology.
While they said that the Spire payloads were “still the same payloads” as those on their own satellites, upcoming upgrades were on the table, and this appears to be the start of that process.
Laboratoire Reaction Dynamics
Finally, Reaction Dynamics received $450,000 for “Development of Enabling Technologies for a High-Performance Upper Stage for an Orbital Launch Vehicle.” As they’re a launch company working on a small-class orbital launcher, the Aurora, that makes sense. Their multi-stage launcher uses a hybrid engine (solid fuel with liquid oxygen), which carries a number of advantages that could shake up the launch market if it’s successful.
Their first launch launch be later this year, and they are planning on launching in Canada with Maritime Launch Services’ Spaceport Nova Scotia. Reaction Dynamics CEO Bachar Elzein said he was “ecstatic” at the opportunity, but other Canadians are taking interest as well, as the combination of MLS and Reaction Dynamics could mean that fully-Canadian orbital launches may be on the table.
(MLS is also going to be launching medium-class rockets, however, through their partnership with Ukraine’s Yuzhmash and Yuzhnoye.)
The CSA said that the selection of the awards was “based on the evaluation of their applications and not by the nature of the technology itself” and that they were looking for projects that “demonstrate understanding of the technology as well as the market context in which it is developed and who can also clearly express the tangible outcomes that will come as a result of the technology being developed.”
They also said that “it’s important to point out that all STDP contributions are pre-commercialization.”
It is encouraging to note the forward-looking approach by the Canadian Space Agency to potential new commercial opportunities with this announcement relating to Next-Wave Technologies. Furthermore, the four technology proposals selected all would seem to have high potential. However, it is disappointing to note that, again, the companies chosen are all located in either Ontario or Quebec. This follows the provincial breakdown for STDP AO-7 where 24 of the 29 awards went to companies in these two provinces and only 5 outside – 2 in Alberta, 1 in each of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. In order to develop the potential of entrepreneurs outside of ON/QC, it is important that a proactive program is put in place to actively encourage and develop this very real potential.
David Kendall