U of M researchers patiently await launch of first satellite into space
Researchers at the University of Manitoba’s Price Faculty of Engineering are patiently awaiting the launch of the school’s first ever satellite into space.
A team of faculty and students at the U of M have spent the last few years building a CubeSat, a new standard in building satellites. The satellite is made up of ten-centimetre cubes, each about the size of a Rubik’s Cube. The entire U of M CubeSat - named Iris - is about the same size as a milk carton.
“The whole idea here is to improve access to space,” said associate professor Philip Ferguson. “We can do that by using less expensive parts and by using sometimes students to build the spacecraft, and at the same time teach people about space systems engineering, space science, geology. It’s a great tool for many different uses.”
Ferguson said their CubeSat cost less than $50,000 to build, as opposed to the hundreds of millions of dollars it costs for a traditional satellite.
The CubeSat movement began in the early 2000s at Stanford University. The Canadian Space Agency began its own CubeSat program in 2018. As part of the program’s first edition, 15 universities across Canada received funding to build their own CubeSat and program it.
Iris will be taking pictures of rocks in orbit to find out how they react to space weather.
“Everything from cosmic radiation, to micrometeoroids, to atomic oxygen,” said Ferguson. “We think that there’s a whole lot of nothing in space, but really there’s quite a lot of things going on space that changes the way things look to us.”
Ferguson said the experiment results will tell them more about how to interpret images and samples collected from space.
“These kinds of things weren’t possible before the CubeSat movement just because nobody could afford to get something in space,” he added.
The team has already started on their next CubeSat, working with Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut to design a satellite to study ice thicknesses in Hudson’s Bay.
After the original launch planned for Saturday was scrapped due to high winds, a re-scheduled launch for Sunday was also postponed.
SpaceX will try again to launch its Falcon 9 rocket with Iris on board Monday at noon.
Once the cargo arrives at the International Space station, Ferguson said it could take more than a month before the astronauts actually deploy Iris.
“I’m told amongst our spacecraft is a new solar array for the space station, and a bunch of fruit for the astronauts,” Ferguson said. “I’m assuming the astronauts will want to indulge in some fresh fruit, but eventually they will get to unpacking our CubeSat.”
The satellite will be launched into orbit 400 km above the Earth’s surface. Once activated, it will send its data back to the U of M campus for about two years.
“At that altitude, things usually only last a few years before the atmosphere pulls it back to earth and it burns up,” said Ferguson.
Despite the weekend’s launch postponement, Ferguson is excited for Iris to get into orbit and get to work. He said it’s a great day for Manitoba.
“We’re a hub of aerospace engineering and space research here in Manitoba, and we’re looking to do more of it in the years to come.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.