It is encouraging to see this hardware actually reach orbit. According to federal grant records, Ottawa backed this project with $20 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund in 2024. We often see those line items vanish into administrative costs in the Public Accounts, so seeing ten functional satellites is a refreshing return on investment.
And for a very unique constellation at that! I love the team at Kepler. They're very friendly and passionate about things, so im glad to see them get this.
No, but they are joining an elite club. We've seen optical links used by the European Data Relay System (EDRS) and extensively by the US Space Development Agency and Starlink.
However, EDRS operates from Geostationary Orbit, which is 36,000km away. Kepler's big differentiator is that they are building a LEO-based mesh network.
So, while they aren't the first to sell an optical relay service, they are pioneering this faster, 'internet-style' architecture for the commercial market. Its actually a fairly unique and amazing capability to have under Canadian control!
I can't speak if they're the first to have a dedicated, commercial LEO-based relay network operational, but they are certainly one of the exclusive few.
It is encouraging to see this hardware actually reach orbit. According to federal grant records, Ottawa backed this project with $20 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund in 2024. We often see those line items vanish into administrative costs in the Public Accounts, so seeing ten functional satellites is a refreshing return on investment.
And for a very unique constellation at that! I love the team at Kepler. They're very friendly and passionate about things, so im glad to see them get this.
Noah, is this the first satellite system to use optical data transmission? I’m hardly an expert, but “Go Kepler”!
No, but they are joining an elite club. We've seen optical links used by the European Data Relay System (EDRS) and extensively by the US Space Development Agency and Starlink.
However, EDRS operates from Geostationary Orbit, which is 36,000km away. Kepler's big differentiator is that they are building a LEO-based mesh network.
So, while they aren't the first to sell an optical relay service, they are pioneering this faster, 'internet-style' architecture for the commercial market. Its actually a fairly unique and amazing capability to have under Canadian control!
I can't speak if they're the first to have a dedicated, commercial LEO-based relay network operational, but they are certainly one of the exclusive few.
Thank you for clearing my foggy knowledge!
Indeed. This is one constellation I have been very excited about for this reason. Its an amazing capacity to have in Canadian hands.