That’s a wrap!

Today the LORIS CubeSat team met with the Canadian Space Agency for the team’s Pre-Critical Design Review (pre-CDR). Our team leads, each in charge of a subsystem on-board LORIS, met virtually with experts from the CSA to review the current design of our satellite. Pre-CDR is the last review before presenting the final design of the spacecraft to the CSA, scheduled to take place in February 2021.

The current team leads, along with DSS President Arad Garaghozli and former leads on the project, presented an overview of each of LORIS’s critical systems, including the attitude system, chassis, payload, ground station, and power system. They also explained their design philosophies, testing results, as well as any problems the CubeSat might expect to encounter going forward. These reviews are critical to the success of LORIS when it eventually flies in space, now slated for launch in late 2021. The team fielded questions from the CSA representatives about each system, and the CSA provided advice in how to move forward in ensuring the LORIS launches successfully. With this early shakedown complete, teams will take the Agency’s feedback and implement it into the spacecraft before it is officially presented next year.

As LORIS moves closer to its prototyping and manufacturing phase, Dalhousie Space Systems Lab continues to look for new volunteers. As the only undergraduate-built and operated cubesat under CSA’s “Canadian Cubesat Project”, the lab is always seeking out talent from anyone interested in becoming part of this mission to space. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges and delays, the team continues to use this time to work on LORIS, as well as the Aeolus ventilator system that the was released to the public earlier last month. It is a testament to the incredible work of the Dalhousie Space Systems Lab that our volunteers are now being recognized by employers, with some members now securing lucrative engineering jobs after contributing to the Lab.

If you’re interested in becoming a part of Dalhousie Space Systems Labs, visit dalorbits.ca or contact us through our Facebook page.