Shuttle docking lets sensor shine

High above the Earth, the docking of the space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station on Sunday signalled the beginning of the latest mission aboard the orbiting outpost.

For engineers at Canadian space technology company Neptec Design Group, it was an opportunity to test a new kind of sensor system under harsh conditions.

Discovery tested Ottawa-based Neptec's TriDAR sensors to provide a guide of the geometric shape of the spacecraft, as the shuttle made its approach to the station.

Data from that test was downloaded to Earth, where the company hopes to analyze the results and see how the system measured up.

"Every test we do is a really big test, but this is a big milestone," said Neptec CEO Iain Christie. "You can't be taken seriously until you've flown the hardware. This is now a space-qualified system."

TriDAR uses two different technologies already familiar to those who follow space missions. One is LIDAR or Light Detection and Ranging technology. Lidar sensors send pulses of light and then records the reflections of those pulses as they return to provide a map of a region, similar to how radar is used.

Technology to be tested with helicopters

A number of other Canadian companies have demonstrated Lidar technology; most notably Vaughan, Ont.-based Optech, which built the Lidar detector on the Phoenix Mars lander for MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.

The other technology isthe samethermal imaging system Neptec developed for the space shuttles that allows NASA to check the spacecraftfor exterior damage to the heat shield after a launch.

The combination of these two technologies is meant to provide real-time visual guidance for navigation, rendezvous and docking procedures in space. The TriDAR technology will also be tested again when the shuttle undocks and flies around the station before departing.

The technology also has potential here on Earth too, said Christie, and starting this week, tests will begin using the TriDAR technology as a navigation system for helicopters operating in dusty or degraded environments, such as during military operations in Afghanistan.

Funding issues for space programs

Neptec's work in the technology comes at a time when the future direction of space programs around the world is uncertain. The Canadian Space Agency has been working on a new national space policy since president Steve MacLean took over last fall, but has yet to reveal details or commit funding to any new major projects.

That's in part because the United States, often Canada's biggest partner in space exploration, has been facing budget issues and is currently reviewing its own long-term commitment to programs to send a new fleet of spacecraft to the moon and later Mars.

The European Space Agency, of which the Canadian space Agency is a participating member, has also delayed many of its plans because of funding problems.

Mike Kearns, Neptec's vice president of space exploration systems, said his company is aware of the uncertainty involving space exploration. It's one of the reasons why the company designed the TRiDAR system to be flexible, he said.

"We do have a Mars rover application in mind for the TriDAR system, and we have a version for the moon and one for satellite repair," he said.

"There are a lot of potential avenues and so the idea was to make a flexible tool that could go with any of those plans," said Christie. "But we know not to get far from the news feed to find out what's happening."