Canada has chosen Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), to launch a COM DEV-made satellite. Originally the bird was set to be lofted in June by a Russian Soyuz rocket in Kazakhstan, but the Canadian government…
Canada has chosen Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), to launch a COM DEV-made satellite.
Originally the bird was set to be lofted in June by a Russian Soyuz rocket in Kazakhstan, but the Canadian government scrapped that plan in April due to geo-political issues in the region.
The M3M, a microsatellite designed to track and monitor marine vessels, will now be dispatched next year from India on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which commissioned the satellite, helped to broker the launch with ISRO.
In a statement, Michael Pley, CEO of COM DEV, commented: “This contract reflects a monumental effort between COM DEV and Antrix, and between COM DEV and the CSA, to close out our original contract and secure the most rapid replacement launch for the M3M satellite, which was withdrawn from its original launch slot on the Russian Soyuz rocket.”
M3M will orbit at an altitude of approximately 650km and be used to receive and locate digital signals transmitted by vessels.
Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) will use the data sent to ground centres to identify and record marine traffic, know vessels’ direction and cruising speed, and ensure they navigate legally and safely in Canadian waters.
It is not the first foreign launch contract Antrix has secured this year. At the end of January, DMC International Imaging (DMCii), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), contracted Antrix for the launch of three DMC-3 Earth observation satellites.
Antrix followed that up in February, signing an agreement with ST Electronics (Satellite Systems) of Singapore to launch its TeLEOS-1 remote sensing satellite.
All the launches will take place in 2015 and use ISRO’s PSLV, its first operational launch vehicle. The rocket is capable of lifting 1600kg into 620km sun-synchronous polar orbit, or 1050kg into geo-synchronous transfer orbit.
