24 septembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

'Shields Up': Defence Department looks for new ways to protect Canada's satellites, with a nod to Star Trek

Enemy action against satellites could include cyber-attacks, jamming, lasers or missiles, while natural threats could be solar flares or space weather

The Defence Department wants to take a page out of Star Trek and has asked researchers to develop ways to protect Canadian satellites from such threats as laser attacks and missiles.

Dubbed the “Shields Up” project, the plan would see the development of innovative capabilities that could be incorporated into the design and operation of Canada's space-based systems.

The Shields Up terminology is a nod to the sci-fi TV and movie series Star Trek in which the USS Enterprise starship is protected by deflector shields that can be instantly activated in response to a threat.

“Satellites are vulnerable to natural and artificial threats as well as, increasingly, threats from adversaries who seek to disrupt or destroy allied space systems,” said Dan Le Bouthillier, a spokesman for the Department of National Defence.

Enemy action against satellites could include cyber-attacks, jamming, lasers or missiles, while natural threats could be solar flares, space weather or collisions with debris in space.

The Defence Department and the Canadian Forces are the only Canadian entities with the mandate of protecting and defending the country's space capabilities, Le Bouthillier noted.

The call for proposals is part of a DND science innovation program.

Ideas that are accepted will receive $200,000 to further the proposal over a six-month period. The most promising solutions could receive another $1 million for additional development, Le Bouthillier said.

Most satellite services are commercial in nature and defensive measures have not been a primary criteria in their design. But the DND wants that to change.

The concepts or designs have to provide a reasonable method to deal with the threat. They also have to take into account Canada's international relations and obligations and the fact that various satellites operate in different orbits, which could influence the type of threats they face.

There are 1,950 operational satellites in Earth orbits.

Le Bouthillier said militaries are increasingly dependent on space-based systems for communication, surveillance, environmental monitoring and navigation.

The DND has a growing interest in keeping Canadian space systems safe. In August the department put out a request to Canadian scientists to try to come up with a way to rid the Earth's orbit of the millions of pieces of space junk that pose a threat to satellites and other spacecraft.

But the task is daunting; no other researcher has figured out how to collect the debris, which can be as small as one millimetre.

The DND noted that the request at this point is not about funding a system but investigating new ideas to eliminate the space junk.

The total number of “debris objects” in orbit is estimated to be about 129 million. That includes 34,000 objects greater than 10 centimetres in size, 900,000 objects one cm to 10 cm, and 128 million objects one mm to one cm, according to the DND.

The debris has been created by decades of space travel and operations. In 2007, for instance, China conducted a military test using a missile to destroy one of its satellites. The warhead obliterated the spacecraft, creating an estimated 300,000 pieces of debris. The U.S., Russia and India have conducted similar military experiments.

“There are no operational debris removal capabilities in use, globally, and existing prototypes lack important capabilities and have proven ineffective,” the DND noted in its request to researchers.

DND is also interested in ways to track some of the smaller pieces of space junk as well as methods to remove multiple pieces of debris of any size. Space surveillance networks regularly track about 22,300 objects in Earth orbits.

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/shields-up-defence-department-looks-for-new-ways-to-protect-canadas-satellites-with-a-nod-to-star-trek

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27 mars 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

NRC COVID-19 response
The Government of Canada is taking strong and quick action to protect our economy, and the health and safety of all Canadians during this global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We are working with our partners as part of the collective effort to help find solutions to the COVID-19 outbreak: 1. The COVID-19 Challenges Procurement Program: NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program and Innovative Solutions Canada Purpose: This program will post challenges seeking near-to-market solutions from small and medium-sized businesses (fewer than 500 staff) that need financial support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to refine and sell their product or solution to meet a COVID-19 related need. NRC IRAP works with roughly 8,000 small and medium-sized businesses every year through its cross-Canada network of 255 industrial technology advisors and provides over $300 million in support to more than 3,000 technology development projects annually Through this initiative, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Health Canada (HC) will establish a number of challenges corresponding to needs of health providers to deal with COVID-19 NRC IRAP will partner with Innovative Solutions Canada to launch calls for proposals over the next few weeks to address challenges, fund development of solutions, and buy successful products and services needed to address COVID-19 Together, NRC IRAP and Innovative Solutions Canada will: post the PHAC and HC challenges (Innovative Solutions Canada) award Phase 1 funding to successful small and medium-sized businesses to develop a proof of concept for their solution (NRC IRAP) award Phase 2 funding to the firms with the best concepts so they can develop a working prototype (NRC IRAP) The NRC, PHAC, HC or another federal department or agency will then be able purchase the product for use against COVID-19. Innovative Solutions Canada already has challenges in development, which they will begin posting to their website in the coming days. These will continue as PHAC, HC, and health care providers request new topics. Companies with promising technology relevant to the COVID-19 challenges can register their technology or product by clicking on the Register button below. Register 2. The Pandemic Response Challenge Program: National Research Council of Canada Purpose: This program will build teams to address challenges requiring further research and development for solutions to meet COVID-19 related needs. The NRC will build these teams drawing on internal-to-government capacity and academic researchers who register using the button below to indicate their interest, and related areas of expertise and capabilities. The NRC will receive $15M to form dedicated teams to address challenges in the areas of greatest research and development (R&D) need in the fight against COVID-19. The NRC Pandemic Response Challenge Program will accelerate the development of diagnostics and medical countermeasures for a rapid front-line response to protect and treat Canadians. This national vehicle will convene the best Canadian and international researchers from academia and small and medium-sized businesses to collectively accelerate R&D to address specific COVID-19 gaps and challenges as identified by Canadian health experts. The Pandemic Response Challenge Program is currently structured around 3 main research areas: Rapid detection and diagnosis Therapeutics and vaccine development and Digital health. Researchers at Canadian and international universities, government departments, colleges, and highly innovative firms with relevant expertise can now register their interest to work with us on these challenges by clicking the Register button below. Funding is available to help cover the costs of research for academic institutions, small and medium-sized businesses, and other eligible recipients participating in the challenge teams. Over the coming weeks, we will post the specific R&D challenges, send information to registered researchers, and invite them to indicate the expertise and capabilities they can bring to a team. Register 3. Biomanufacturing capacity at Royalmount: NRC Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre Purpose: This initiative will result in a Good Manufacturing Practices platform to develop and scale up COVID-19 Canadian vaccine and therapy candidates. The NRC Biomanufacturing facility, located in the NRC's Royalmount Avenue building in Montréal, is used to develop and scale up processes to produce biological medicines and is managed by the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre. As part of its development capacity, the facility is equipped with pilot-scale bioreactors (200 L and 500 L), which will be operationally available to produce up to 100,000 doses of vaccine per month within 6 months once a vaccine suitable for front-line responders is available. A $15 million investment will fund the certification of the facility for Good Manufacturing Practices compliance, and will enable production of material that will be used in humans, particularly for vaccines or therapeutics. This certification can also greatly increase the capacity for candidate vaccines or therapeutics to be quickly rolled out and clinically tested, particularly those originating from Canada. The work to refine and certify quality systems at the facility will include: bringing the existing facility to regulatory standards, installing equipment to expand capacity, and managing information. Once certified, this facility will be able to accelerate the scale-up production and testing of various types of vaccine candidates in the context of the current COVID-19 outbreak, including protein-based, viral vector-based, and antibody-based products. https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/nrc-covid-19-response
4 mars 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

SOLUTION DÉTECTION DE DRONE de la compagnie Drone Vision International
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1 février 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité

Sandbox CUAS Detect, Defeat Challenge is Now Live! | Le défi CUAS Détecter et Vaincre 2.0 d’Environnement protégé est maintenant en ligne!
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