Several universities received federal funding to build a nanosatellite in 2018. Teams from Dalhousie and the University of Victoria completed first. Now, the Dalhousie team is getting ready to ship its creation. The satellite is 10 by 10 by 20 cm and weighs less than two kilograms. Project manager Arad Gharagozli said it was satisfactory to build the CubeSat. “Being in this environment and having the opportunity to work very closely with some of our space industry experts here in Canada has been amazing,” he said. “Being able to pool all the resources and show everyone that even building a satellite is something we can do here in Nova Scotia was huge.” The device is called LORIS, which means low-track image recognition satellite. Arad Gharagozli was in charge of the project. CubeSat will be launched from the International Space Station. (CBC) The main goal of the satellite is to test how different technologies work like computers in space. It is also equipped with cameras to capture aerial images of the earth and the team hopes to take photos of Halifax. Katerina Vinogradova started working on satellite from her first year of engineering in Dalhousie. He said it is surreal to know that he worked on something that will be in space. “When you work towards a goal, right now, you feel extremely long,” he said. “And then you get to the end and you feel like it went extremely fast. So it’s kind of comforting to know that everything worked out according to plan and it’s quite satisfying to see everything coming together and going up.”
Destined for the International Space Station
Vinogradova is part of a small team that will carry the satellite to the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal later this month. Once integrated into the launcher, it will be sent to California, launched into the International Space Station and sent into orbit. Katerina Vinogradova is an engineering student at Dalhousie University. (CBC) Luc Charbonneau also worked on the satellite and is a member of the transport team. “I’ve always had my eyes on the stars and things like that, and I end up doing something that goes in space,” Charbonneau said. “Well, yes, it’s really exciting fun.” About 250 students, most of them in engineering, have participated in the project since 2018. Nova Scotia’s first satellite will be exposed on Thursday from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. at 1345 Norma Eddy Lane on the Dalhousie campus.
