Hi. Welcome to 10 minutes with CSA, a series of conferences
about exciting projects at the Canadian Space Agency.
So, my name is Steve Iris. I am CSA's mission manager for the RADARSTAT
Constellation Mission, and today I will talk about the usefulness of satellites
but also for sure on the Constellation.
So, we will start with a simple question: Do you like to travel? I sure do.
A photo like this makes me dream about my next trip under the sun,
but maybe some of you prefer colder temperatures.
What you see here is a picture of the Crystal Serenity, when we did a first trip from Alaska
to New York in 2016, going through the Northwest Passage.
Aside from the unique fact that it's probably an exciting trip what made
me interested in this scene is the non-visible; in fact,
all the information required to ensure the security and safety of the passengers
on board and this unfriendly part of the world.
And a large part of this information is coming from space.
If you want to know your geographical position at all times you need
that information precisely. You need also to be able to communicate
in case of emergency - but there is no infrastructure in this area.
And also, you need the ability to know in advance the ice conditions
before you reach that point.
The same technology is used by everybody almost every day.
Just take into account the GPS; so, you're probably like me,
you use it a lot to reach your destination.
It could be on your phone or within your car.
If you're like me you watched the last World Cup or even the Olympics.
The signals of the footage probably came through a satellite relay;
the same for probably the internet you use right now to see me.
In addition to positioning a communication a satellite is quite useful
also to monitor our planet, so what we call the Earth observation.
It's useful for monitoring atmosphere and also the environment.
As we speak right now there is about 2,000 satellites --
active satellites, orbiting the planet - a third of them is for Earth observation.
As you can see in the picture, Canada is quite a big country.
In fact, we are the second in the world, after Russia.
We are also bordered by three oceans meaning
that we have the longest coastline in the world.
If you combine that with the fact that 90% of the Canadian population is
living close to the border, it means that a big part of country
quite difficult to monitor on a regular basis.
This is why we realized early that satellites will be quite useful
to monitor our country. The Canadian Space Agency uses a
lot of data on a scientific level, but also on an operational level
and RADARSTAT is part of that.
If you go back in 1995, we launched our first Earth observation mission
called RADARSTAT-1. The success of this mission helped us to build
a strong expertise in radar remote sensing, and we're still considered
as a leader in this field today. The successor, RADARSTAT-2,
was launched in 2007 and is still in operation today.
It continues to provide us daily images. And now, we are getting ready
for the RADARSTAT Constellation Mission.
RCM consists of three identical satellites - Earth observation satellites.
Using a radar sensor, as opposed to an optical satellite radar,
can image(ph) without any light illumination and also
can see through the clouds, which is a big advantage.
The three-satellite configuration will provide us the ability to monitor
our full country every day, including the Maritimes approaches.
Because the satellite will be evenly spaced on the orbital plane
by 120 degrees, we will be able to monitor regularly the same sites
over and over, which provides us very precise measure.
Subtle changes we will be able to monitor at millimeter level.
A good example is probably the permafrost melting in the North;
we will be able to monitor (inaudible), which could have an impact on
certain infrastructure integrity, like railroads or pipelines.
RCM will also be equipped with a second instrument, an instrument
that will be able to detect ships. So, in conjunction with radar it will
be able to improve the detection and tracking of vessels.
This capability will be a major interest over certain areas like
the Northwest Passage. So, when we combine both (inaudible) together
we will be able to identify some ships of interest, like if there are any
problems with their transmission or their position due to
emergencies, or because they would like to do some illegal activities.
Each RCM satellite has an expected lifetime of seven years,
and all the satellites are now almost ready and will be launched
shortly on a SpaceX rocket. So, based on what I've just said you
probably figured out that RCM's capabilities will be very good,
but your main question is maybe: Why should I care?
Even if most of the benefits will be obtained by the images that are RCM
will acquire, the building phase already generated strong benefits
and advantages to our Canadian economy. With several
hundred highly-qualified people who built the system over the
last decade RCM really helped our industry to maintain
its position in the space sector as a leader and also in the advanced technologies.
Some 125 suppliers within seven provinces were involved in this project;
over a dozen Departments already use RADARSTAT data,
and this number will increase with time, during the RADARSTAT operations.
We expect that RCM will use 50 times more images than RADARSTAT-1
for the federal departments. This means that it is really critical
to them to deliver services to Canadian, to you. Not convinced?
I will show you a few examples. Let's begin with agriculture.
So, this farmer from Ontario needs to operate a farm of 600 acres.
Radar information is quite useful for him, because radar has the ability to measure soil --
in the soil and the top layer, so with this information he
can have a good idea of his crop's health.
Using that information, in return, he could decide with areas
need more water or less fertilizer or pesticides.
When you manage more rigorously those three elements
you will be able at some point to reduce the utilization
of those products, so it is better economy for --
not only for him but also for us.
So, we have high-quality products in our plate,
at a cheaper price. Radar is also quite good to
support disaster events, like floods.
I mentioned previously; we can see through the clouds,
so where there is heavy rain it's quite useful in this scene -- in this area.
By knowing which areas are affected first responders are more efficient
in their decision-making and strategy to best establish to support
the emergency on the ground and limit the impact.
For example, in May, 2017, Quebec and Ontario were affected
by several floods and a state of emergency was declared.
RADARSTAT-2 was used at that time and other data sources also,
to map the flood extent. So, it really helped the public safety of Canada
and army efforts to rescue people and mitigate the damage.
RADARSTAT is quite also useful for identifying various types
of ice and (inaudible). Monitoring ice from space helps navigation
conditions and helps to establish safe navigation routes.
We talked recently with a ship captain who had to transport materials
from Quebec to the Northern part of the provinces,
and he encounters sometimes obstacles during his way,
especially ice blocks. So, he mentioned to us that the only way for him --
the only reliable source that he has on his hands to reach that point is
really RADARSTAT information.
So these are just few examples of the capabilities offered
by space technology and satellite, but for sure RADARSTAT
and RCM, eventually.
I hope that the next time that you will use your GPS,
check the weather forecast or even eat dishes of vegetables or fruit,
you will have a little thought for our hardworking satellites
in orbit that try to help us every day.
That concludes my 10-minute presentation. I will now switch to the
questions we received. So, let's start with question number 1:
So, who built RCM and (RADARSTAT Constellation Mission)
and how long did it take? In fact, the building of a satellite, like I mentioned,
implies the -- 125 Canadian suppliers who contribute to the RCM building,
and the prime contractor is MDA, which is -- most of the job has been done here,
in Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, near the Canadian Space Agency.
The design and building took approximately 10 years in total.
Question number 2:
How high above the planet will the RCM satellite be?
The altitude of RCM will be 600 kilometres, which is 200 less
than the current RADARSTAT-2, at 800. The fact that they will be
lower will allow us to monitor Canada on a daily basis, like
I mentioned previously. That's one of the main reasons they are a bit lower.
Question number 3: How big is the RADARSTAT Constellation Mission?
In terms of height, it's 3.75 metres, so it's approximately two times my height.
In terms of the weight; we talk about half the weight of RADARSTAT-1
and we talk about the same weight as a rhino - just to give you a point of comparison.
Question number 4: How many images will the RADARSTAT Constellation Mission take?
So, we talk about 250,000 images per year, which is 50 times
more than RADARSTAT-1. That's a lot of imagery that will be used
by the Canadian government.
And -- yes; this is it. So, this is the last question I received.
So, I would like to thank you for -- this was -- in fact,
thank you for your participation.
So, that was my 10-minute about RADARSTAT Constellation Mission,
so I would like to thank you again for your participation,
questions, and see you next time. Goodbye.