G2V Optics has sent solar simulators to NASA to help test a spacecraft that aims to solve the Earth’s growing problem with space debris. This is the latest success in the evolution of the Edmonton-based company to use Engineered Sunlight technology to help aerospace organizations know what to expect from the sun after launching their devices into orbit.
“It’s a huge project and … a fantastic feather in the hat for everyone on our team who has worked on it,” G2V Optics CEO Ryan Tucker told Taproot. “And I think it’s a great thing for Edmonton and our technology.”
G2V Optics received $ 822,100 in contracts from NASA in 2021. This project, the culmination of a two-year procurement process, is to test OSAM-1, a spacecraft to be launched in 2026 for service. on Landsat 7, a satellite that has passed its heyday. If OSAM-1 can successfully connect to Landsat 7 and refuel it, then NASA will be one step closer to increasing the lifespan of satellites, even those not designed to be operated in orbit. and will reduce the number of off-commission vessels at risk of colliding with each other around our planet.
This is not the first foray into the space business for G2V Optics. In addition to a previous contract with NASA laboratories, the company is working with the Center nationale d’études spatiales (CNES) in France to enable testing of technology involved in the Martian Moon Exploration Mission (MMX) in 2024, in which the rover will land on Phobos and fly past Deimos.
“We don’t put anything in space. But we create all the photons to make sure everything works when they send it there,” Tucker said, noting that it’s fun to have a preview of the space research that’s being done. “We can peek behind the curtain of these really interesting and exciting space exploration missions before they go public.
Space is not where G2V Optics began when it was founded in 2015. After founder and CTO Michael Tashuk first developed the company’s light emission technology at the National Institute of Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta, its first applications were in food production, especially to maximize the efficiency of vertical agriculture.
“From a technical point of view (we) did remarkable things,” Tucker said. “We were able to grow 30% more biomass with the same amount of energy and improve what was possible using the complexity of our technology. But we realized that we were too early for this market … it’s such a nascent industry that is tackling its own scaling challenges. “
At the same time, solar cell researchers and aerospace companies were ready for what G2V does.
“We suddenly started working in this sector, with this more complex requirement that was perfectly suited to what we developed,” Tucker said. “That’s the grip you’re looking for, isn’t it?” Your job as a starter is to find what is appropriate. And it wasn’t exactly where we thought it was. But, I like to think, we were smart enough to listen and chase it when we found it. “
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