HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA – November 4, 2026 - Galaxia today announced OSPREY, an advanced Canadian-built satellite being developed to demonstrate new approaches to sensing, onboard processing, data movement and resilient space operations for defence applications.
OSPREY is being developed with funding received through the Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program challenge, Gateway to the Stars: Advancing hybrid space networks in low Earth orbit. The mission will explore how increasingly intelligent spacecraft can support future defence sensing and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) architectures, particularly in remote and communications-constrained environments such as the Canadian Arctic.
The spacecraft will be built on Galaxia’s proprietary Halifax Class satellite bus, a Canadian-designed and manufactured platform developed to support sophisticated missions within an efficient small-satellite architecture.
At the core of OSPREY is Galaxia’s broader software-defined spacecraft technology stack, bringing together Canadian-built flight hardware, onboard computing, secure software, edge processing and resilient communications into a single integrated system.
“We are entering an era of urgent and growing dependence on space, even as the domain becomes more contested, congested and complex. Traditional architectures cannot close emerging capability gaps quickly enough to meet the demands of today’s security environment” said Arad Gharagozli, Founder and CEO of Galaxia. “Galaxia is developing intelligent spacecraft that can operate cooperatively, establish resilient communications, form secure space-based networks, process observations onboard and deliver relevant information to users in near real time. These capabilities can help Canada and its allies strengthen situational awareness, improve resilience, accelerate decision-making and respond more effectively to emerging threats.”
A major focus of OSPREY will be demonstrating new ways of moving information through orbit.
Traditional satellites are often dependent on scheduled passes over dedicated ground stations before collected information can be delivered to users. OSPREY is being developed to explore an alternative model in which data from legacy spacecraft can be transferred to another spacecraft in orbit and then either processed onboard or moved through alternative low-Earth-orbit communications pathways.
This could provide a new way to extend the capabilities of an existing space asset, including legacy systems limited by traditional space-to-ground communications, by connecting them to a more responsive orbital data infrastructure.
Using Galaxia’s cyber layer in space, data received in orbit could also be processed closer to where it is collected, reducing the amount of information that must be transmitted and helping accelerate the delivery of relevant results to users on the ground.
OSPREY will support baseline monitoring, analysis and technology validation intended to inform the development of future Canadian hybrid space architectures and increasingly distributed constellations.
The mission also demonstrates the scalability of Galaxia’s approach. Rather than relying exclusively on large, highly specialized spacecraft, Galaxia is developing a common Canadian spacecraft architecture that can combine advanced sensing, computing, networking and cyber capabilities across a growing fleet of intelligent satellites.
“From Canada, we are advancing work at the critical intersection of space and cyber, an area of deep expertise with the potential to reinforce allied security, enhance interoperability and deliver meaningful global impact,” said Gharagozli. “Our goal is not simply to put Canadian satellites in orbit. It is to build the advanced space and cyber capabilities that Canada and its allies will increasingly depend on.”
About Galaxia
Galaxia is a Canadian space technology company developing advanced satellite platforms and mission infrastructure for commercial, civil, and defence customers. Through its MissionOne program and next-generation spacecraft platforms, Galaxia is helping enable responsive and sovereign space capabilities for Canada and its allies.
About the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program
The Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program supports Canadian innovators in developing and advancing solutions to defence and security challenges identified by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Through funding, testing and collaboration opportunities, IDEaS helps move promising concepts toward capabilities that can address evolving defence and security needs..
Noah Note: I love seeing stuff like this. So many Canadian companies doing so much good, and of course I love seeing some Buses! Galaxia is a smaller but notable player in the scene. The company was founded in 2020 out of the Dalhousie ecosystem. Most of you probably know them for their "software-defined" satellites, whose onboard computers can be reprogrammed in orbit to run new applications, including AI.
They've since moved into providing orbital compute infrastructure, including for real-time threat detection and intelligence, as a service. To support that, the company recently launched it's next-generation onboard computer Onyx Edge, whixh replaces their original Raven system. The companies first satellite, MÖBIUS-1 launched last June, the first commercial satellite designed and built in Atlantic Canada.
Galaxia has already had some fair success in its short life. It received a DRDC contract last year to design, build, launch, and operate the Canadian Tactical Operations Satellite on its in-house Halifax-Class nanosatellite bus as part of the Space LEO program.
The company will also carry California-based Apolink's hybrid optical-RF inter-satellite link demo on its spacecraft in 2027 as a hosted payload under it's MissionOne banner.
This is a big accomplishment for them, and I am happy to see more and more upstart space companies start to really get out there. It's inspiring!