NorStar Space Data Inc.

Published purpose

The threat of orbital debris impacting an operating satellite or manned spacecraft is a significant cause for concern to today's space community and a national concern for Canada's space assets. With the years, Canada's and world's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) needs are exponentially growing. To date, the U.S. military maintains the world's most extensive orbital tracking network, . Canada is actively contributing to this international space surveillance system through programs such as SAPPHIRE and NEOSSat. To improve significantly the response to the international SSA needs, NorStar Space Data Inc. (NSDI) is pursuing the development of a constellation of LEO satellites equipped with hyperspectral sensors called NorthStar. With NorthStar, it is estimated that at least 95% of all the objects in the range from 1cm to 10 cm not currently tracked will be able to be tracked and their trajectories accurately determined. In addition, the trajectory knowledge of larger, non-operational objects will be increased 100 times, thus significantly improving collision prediction with space-based assets. The primary focus of this project is to develop the ground based data analysis tools for image processing. The resulting output will be tailored towards providing satellite operators and other potential users with the information they need to monitor their assets, assess potential threats well in advance, improve knowledge both of the current situation and the accuracy of longer term projections, and make the decisions critical to the success of their missions properly and in a timely manner.