The little satellite that could

The microspace approach to building satellites allows SFL to achieve low-cost through reduced formality, tightly integrated design teams and the use of commercially available parts. Such parts are similar to those you would find in your cell phone or personal data assistant.

“We’ve had some great customers, including Defence R&D Canada and the Canadian Space Agency, who are willing to trust us to get the job done according to our microspace experience,” Zee adds. “Often large agencies will be tempted to protect their investment by getting involved in the design decisions or development approaches themselves. Our customers know that the contractor is already motivated to do a good job.”

The Space Flight Laboratory also builds custom separation systems, or the devices that eject satellites from their launch vehicles. The XPOD developed by SFL is a customizable separation system that can accommodate a wide variety of satellite sizes and shapes. SFL uses its XPOD separation systems to support low-cost launches of multiple nanosatellites arranged through its Nanosatellite Launch Service (NLS) program.

CanX-2 is a project supported by Defence R&D Canada (Ottawa), the Canadian Space Agency, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), MDA Space Missions, and the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
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