Canada’s Smallest Satellite: The Canadian Advanced Nanospace Experiment (CanX-1)

The Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment (CanX) Program of the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS/SFL) is a Canadian first, allowing engineering researchers to test nanoand micro-scale devices rapidly and inexpensively in space. CanX is a “picosatellite” program for research and education, with graduate students leading the design, development, testing, and operations of Canada’s smallest satellites having a mass under 1 kg. The first UTIAS/SFL picosatellite, CanX-1, is scheduled for launch in early 2003 together with CubeSats from other university and industry developers. The objective of the CanX-1 mission is to verify the functionality of several novel electronic technologies in orbital space. This paper outlines the features, capabilities and performance of CanX-1, including horizon and star-tracking experiments using two CMOS imagers, active threeaxis magnetic stabilization, GPS-based position determination, and an ARM7 central processor.