In this weeks podcast we spoke with Stephane Germain, CEO of GHGSat. GHGSat is an early stage company based in Montreal looking to become the global reference for remote sensing of greenhouse and air quality gas emissions from industrial sites.
To accomplish their goal GHGSat is using their patented technology in a sensor placed on a small satellite. Their first satellite, a demonstration satellite called Claire, has just completed its first year in orbit, proving out the technology, though there were some issues.
Those issues are being addressed according to Germain, with design changes to be implemented in the next two satellites. The next two satellites will be launched within two years as part of a planned small satellite constellation.
Aside from the commercial market they hope to dominate, GHGSat is also working with the Department of National Defence in determining how their technology can help the military. I also learned that GHGSat will have a ground station online later this year at the government’s Inuvik Satellite Station Facility.
As the only commercial company in this segment with a satellite on-orbit, GHGSat has an advantage on its competitors, an advantage it intends to capitalize on.
Listen to and Subscribe to the Podcast
You can subscribe to the podcast using your favourite podcast app (iOS and Android). For apps like OverCast or Pocket Cast you can search using the podcast title SpaceQ or use the RSS feed URL listed below.
The RSS feed URL is: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:286233381/sounds.rss
The podcast is also available on Apple iTunes and SoundCloud.