Maintaining communication networks across Canada’s vast and rugged terrain is a significant challenge. It’s one that has propelled the country to become a pioneering force in satellite communication technology. However, the recent surge in internet traffic has exposed the limitations of radio links used to relay data between Earth and space, hindering the expansion of satellite networks.
To address this, McMaster researchers Steve Hranilovic and Rafael Kleiman, in collaboration with National Research Council of Canada (NRC) researchers, Costel Flueraru and Oliver Pitts, are spearheading an innovative project to develop a mobile facility that employs optical transmissions from lasers in space, rather than traditional radio waves, to enhance data transfer rates from satellites, even amidst atmospheric distortion.
High-speed internet is a prerequisite for thriving in a modern economy.
“High-speed internet is a prerequisite for thriving in a modern economy,” says Steve Hranilovic, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Vice-Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at McMaster. “Currently, the maximum internet speed in many areas in Canada’s North is eight times slower than our national average making access to critical services like telemedicine nearly impossible.”
With $1.5-million in support from the NRC’s High-throughput and Secure Networks Challenge program, the team is poised to lead a new frontier in satellite communications.
“Historically, Canada has been a pioneering force in satellite communications,” says Kleiman, Department Chair and Professor of Engineering Physics. “But our historical reliance on radio transmission to achieve this can only get us so far.”
A scintillating solution
Lasers, with their ability to be tightly focused and accurately pointed, are ideal for long-distance communications, especially in space, explains Hranilovic. This technology promises fibre-optic speeds without the need for physical fibres, addressing the limitations of current satellite internet services.
A free-space optical transceiver used in the research for this project
However, atmospheric disturbances like scintillation—the twinkling of stars—can disrupt laser signals. “The twinkling is the bane of our existence,” says Hranilovic. “Even on a clear night, turbulent air flows can interfere with the signals.” Technology to mitigate these disruptions for space optical communications is still in its infancy.
Kleiman, Hranilovic, Flueraru, Pitts and a team of postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, are working to change this. McMaster Engineering and the NRC are two founding members of the Optical SatCom Consortium, formed in 2019 to help support the NRC’s High-throughput and Secure Networks Challenge program mandate, which unites technology innovators and suppliers, product manufacturers and end users to share research to make internet access available to every person in Canada.
“We can’t depend on other countries to lead innovation for essential telecommunication links,” says Kleiman. “There’s no other way to get a lot of data downloaded from a satellite on a scale that northern and remote communities need other than using lasers, and we require novel technologies to achieve this.”
Introducing the OGRE
Most existing satellite ground sites are in regions with favorable weather, such as the Canary Islands and Hawaii, explains Kleiman. However, to effectively serve remote communities, ground stations need to be placed in populated areas with harsher weather and atmospheric conditions.
A significant step forward for this work is the development of the Optical Ground Receiver Enhanced (OGRE), a mobile facility designed to detect optical transmissions from satellites in low Earth orbit.
A rendering of the Optical Ground Receiver Enhanced (OGRE)
The OGRE, which will be tested first in the Ottawa-Gatineau region before moving further north, will measure the impact of atmospheric turbulence on laser communications and build a comprehensive database to characterize these effects in the Canadian context.
The team is targeting international partners from Germany for their first downlink and may also link with a Canadian mission, QEYSSat, launching in late 2025. “It’s not the satellite technology that’s the hurdle. Space is being commercialized,” says Kleiman. “The challenge is reliably drawing data from those satellites in remote and rural areas.”
“We’re on the cusp of making this happen,” says Steve Hranilovic. “This research marks a crucial step towards bridging the digital divide and democratizing access to the internet for Canadians everywhere.”
