Hybrid remote telescopes in the high arctic for astronomy and satellite downlink

Abstract

Satellite downlink demand has never been higher, with bandwidth requirements steadily increasing and radio bands becoming crowded, the need for high-speed satellite communications is great. At the forefront of addressing this need is IR optical free space communication. Using lasers, downlink speeds from satellites can well exceed the 1GB/s mark. Use of this technology is largely limited by lack of infrastructure and development. By developing and implementing deployable, remote operable optical telescopes in the Canadian arctic, we hope to create the necessary infrastructure to provide future satellites, notably those in polar, sun-synchronous orbits, such as CASTOR, with high bandwidth downlink capability. Operating and protecting precision equipment in the harsh conditions presented by the arctic poses a challenge. Here we describe a small-scale prototype developed at the University of Manitoba’s Glenlea site, which has successfully engaged in remote operations throughout the cold Winnipeg winter, and initial progress towards deploying in the high arctic.