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We believe that increasing ease of access to space is both inevitable—as a result of the growing economy and diversification of space-based applications—as well as essential to rapid technology development for space that is well-paced with the constantly accelerating state-of-the-art. StarSpec is at the forefront of this revolution in space, providing the necessary agility and continuous innovation required to meet the increasing demand in the new space supply chain.
Our vision is a world in which accessing the uncapped research, development, and commercial potential of space and near-space environments is limited only by the imaginations of those who endeavor to Rethink Space.
StarSpec Technologies is proud to announce the successful launch of the Super-pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT)! With liftoff from Wanaka, New Zealand at just after 2300h on April 15, 2023, the 1500 kg (3000 lbs) SuperBIT instrument was deployed in the stratosphere at 30-40 km altitude above 99.5% of the atmosphere via a football-stadium-sized balloon. As a founding enabler of the SuperBIT instrument, StarSpec Technologies commissioned the state-of-the-art stabilization platform that provides imaging capabilities that exceed those of the famous Hubble Space Telescope. StarSpec Technologies has since taken this image stabilization technology to market for balloon-borne and satellite instruments alike, offering components and systems that provide unprecented imaging capabilities at a fraction of the cost and time of a traditional space-based mission.
About the SuperBIT Mission
SuperBIT is a first-of-its-kind high precision, wide-field, balloon-borne designed to perform surveys of massive galaxy clusters. Using weak gravitational lensing analyses from imaging data collected, SuperBIT can measure the distribution of so-called dark matter, normally not detectable by traditional means, that shapes the large scale structure of these clusters. Some preliminary images taken by SuperBIT during commissioning are shown on the right (credit: SuperBIT/NASA), demonstrating diffraction limited imaging from near-UV to near IR (300-1000 nm).
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StarSpec's approach to rapid development for space adds value at every critical link in the suborbital and satellite supply chain. We have modularized and standardized our approach to space-based hardware & software, providing unprecedented development times from concept to launch while continually keeping pace with the state-of-the-art.
StarSpec provides flight-proven technology and flight-critical expertise interfacing with international launch providers, including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) through the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES —Centre National d'Études Spatiales) as well as with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The StarSpec team has demonstrated unparalleled flight capabilities for an unprecedented number of successful state-of-the-art suborbital payloads launched and operated from sites across North America and worldwide.
StarSpec Technologies is taking on a bold initiative to encapsulate the space-based application and commercial value of our ultra-stable high resolution imaging technologies. With 100x the precision and imaging quality compared to the current industry standard, the InspireSAT Initiative builds on the successes of sub-orbital platforms, such as EXCITE and SuperBIT, as well as robust technology transfer programmes from the TARDIGRADE Project to bring StarSpec's ADCS technologies to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) competitively and at-scale. This initiative makes available for the first time StarSpec's high precision space-qualified ADCS components, including sub-arcsecond precision star cameras, cogless reaction wheels, and ultra-high-bandwidth controllers.
This initiative is supported by the Canadian Space Agency with mission partners from UC Berkeley and LLNL.
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The EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) is a state-of-the-art, high precision spectrometer-based instrument built and developed out of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA-GSFC). StarSpec provides EXCITE with a three-axis stabilized balloon-borne platform with the necessary precision for near-space characterization of exoplanet atmospheres, a critical component of potentially life-bearing planets beyond our solar system. Scheduled to launch from McMurdo, Antarctica in 2025, EXCITE will be carried to the stratospheric environment via a football-stadium-sized balloon as part of NASA's Long Duration Balloon (LDB) program.
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The Targeted Advancements in Robustly Designed Instrumentation for Generic RADiation Environments (TARDIGRADE) project explores a potentially revolutionary approach to radiation tolerance of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) based electronics for space-based applications. Working hand-in-hand with Canada's TRIUMF radiation test facility in Vancouver, StarSpec's main goals for the TARDIGRADE project are to not only demonstrate suitability of our Modified-COTS approach for modern applications in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), but to both standardize and streamline the space technology development process with a target 1-3 month timeline from concept to qualification.
StarSpec is excited to work with you on your next project! From prototyping instrumentation on balloon-borne platforms operating at the edge of space to production line manufacturing for next-gen satellite constellation applications, StarSpec's technology development approach defines the new standard in accelerated concept-to-launch timescales. Our approach is engineered for continuous innovation, maintaining pace with the state-of-the-art while affording high versatility in customer-centered space-based applications.
StarSpec's goal is to meet the needs of new space applications at every scale—from individual components and modular flight software to partnerships on fully-integrated payloads from concept to launch. Our team has earned decades of experience designing, building, integrating, and operating space-based technologies with demanding engineering and operational requirements. We have demonstrated the high-impact success of the StarSpec approach for a growing number of rapidly developed suborbital and technology development endeavors—and this is only the beginning!
StarSpec Technologies is at the epicenter of Canadian technological innovation. We are based in Cambridge, Canada, one of the foremost technological hubs within the Toronto-region and across Canada with access to technology leaders and innovators from the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Guelph, the Perimeter Institute, the University of Toronto, and a number of exceptional technical institutes. StarSpec's advantageous proximity to world-class academic and technical institutions is enhanced by the strong presence of leading-edge technology manufacturing and distributors in and around the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area, right at StarSpec’s doorstep. With these resources and ample space to grow, StarSpec looks to continue breaking new ground in satellite and suborbital technology, contracting and collaborating with institutions, agencies, and industries in Canada, the United States, and around the world.
