Dr. R. Zee  University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies 4925 Dufferin St., Ontario, Canada M3H 5T6 Phone:   +1-416-667-7864 Fax:       +1-416-667-7799          Email:     rzee (at_sign) utias-sfl.net Web:      Click Here

The Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) is Canada's premier microspace organization. SFL builds low-cost microsatellites and nanosatellites that continually push the performance envelope. Missions are typically developed with stringent attitude control and data requirements that are striking relative to the budget available. SFL must be innovative while adopting a highly focused approach to development in order to achieve costs as low as 1/100^th the price of similar satellites developed elsewhere. SFL’s credits include: MOST, Canada’s first space telescope; CanX-2, a technology demonstrator and atmospheric science satellite; and NTS, a ship-tracking satellite developed in only six months and launched in the seventh. SFL arranges launches through its Nanosatellite Launch Service (NLS) and provides customizable separation systems called “XPODs” for those launches. As part of its complete end-to-end mission capabilities, SFL maintains a mission control center consisting of multiple ground stations.

In addition to developing next generation missions and conducting research and development in disruptive space technologies, SFL trains graduate students through hands-on, practical experience in developing real space missions. Students are able to obtain experience they wouldn’t otherwise receive this early in their careers, giving them a unique advantage when they graduate and move on to industry or academia. Within the time it takes to complete a Master’s degree, students receive complete development cycle training, from mission conception through to launch and on-orbit operations, working side-by-side with SFL’s professional staff. The experience is multi-disciplinary, resulting in versatile engineering graduates that are always in high demand.

At present, SFL operates three satellites from its mission control center: MOST, CanX-2 and NTS. Each satellite represents an advance in the field and has broken barriers relative to what small satellites can do. The 53-kilogram MOST satellite was launched in June 2003 and has been operating for six years despite being designed for a one-year mission. It is a space astronomy satellite that has made numerous scientific discoveries related to solar-type stars and exoplanets. When MOST was launched, it was the first microsatellite in the world to have arcsecond attitude control capability and the ability to accomplish a challenging scientific mission. CanX-2 is Canada’s smallest operational satellite and is the size of a milk carton. Its technologies push the state of the art in low-power, miniature satellite components. It is also among the smallest scientific satellites in the world and features three-axis attitude stabilization. Nanosatellite Tracking of Ships (NTS), a 6.5-kilogram satellite, was launched together with CanX-2 in April 2008 to demonstrate leading edge ship detection technology from space. NTS was developed on an incredibly fast timeline of only six months, a first for a satellite of this class in Canada and perhaps the world.

Research Highlights and Experimental Facilities

Publications