The Canadian Space Agency has selected Dynacon Enterprises of Toronto as the lead contractor to develop and build the world's smallest astronomical space telescope that will be used to measure the ages of stars.
Other key partners include the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). The $4-million contract is subject to the successful completion of federal contract procedures and negotiations.
The project — called the Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars project, or MOST — will bring together teams from Canada and the United States to design a low-cost, 50-kilogram satellite. The satellite's telescope, no bigger than a pie plate in diameter, will be secured to a suitcase-sized platform. The ability to use such a small satellite for a space telescope is made possible by Dynacon's new, lightweight gyroscope technology that corrects the wobbling motion of the satellite, and controls accurately where the satellite is pointing.
Although relatively tiny in size, the satellite and its telescope will be a powerful tool to help astronomers probe the internal structures of stars to determine their ages.
The MOST telescope will be able to detect and characterize the rapid
oscillations in light intensity of stars — a scientific feat not currently possible with any other telescope on earth or in space, including the Hubble Space Telescope.
As part of the MOST team, the University of British Columbia will design and build a telescope of unprecedented photometric capabilities. Dynacon
Enterprises, together with UTIAS, will design the microsatellite bus that will provide the high-precision pointing capability needed for both this and future CSA space science missions. Other MOST partners include: the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology (CRESTech) of Toronto; the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), which includes both Canadian and US Chapters; AeroAstro Corporation of Herndon, Virginia; the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC); and a team of consulting scientists from across Canada and the United States, led by the Principal Investigator, Prof. Jaymie Matthews of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of British Columbia.
The MOST project falls under the Small Payloads Program, sponsored by the
CSA's Space Science Branch.
The CSA is providing $4 million of the total cost. An additional $1.2 million is being provided from the Ontario Government Challenge Fund, while the balance is being financed by the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto.
Traditionally, the development and implementation of satellite technology and programs have been lengthy and expensive. With the Canada-led microsatellite project, the cost of having a satellite in orbit would be dramatically reduced.
"The goal of the CSA's Small Payloads Program is to provide low-cost, frequent access to space for Canadian scientists, said Glen Campbell, the CSA's Project Manager for MOST. Lower cost means we can fly more experiments, keeping Canada at the forefront of innovative technologies that push the frontier of space research".
