First NorthStar satellites in orbit | “It’s no longer a dream, but a reality”

The “real work” begins for NorthStar Ciel & Terre. After delays beyond its control, the young company finally sent its first four satellites into orbit around the Earth – a key step in its project aimed at making Montreal the “control tower of space”.

“We are no longer a concept, but something operational,” says the CEO and founder of the company, Stewart Bain, in a telephone interview with The Press, Friday. It is no longer a dream, but a reality. »

The businessman was returning from a stay in Mahia, New Zealand, where he was able to see Rocket Lab launch the Montreal company’s first four satellites on January 31. NorthStar aims to deploy a constellation of satellites to manage traffic in space. Its service stands out for its ability to identify objects, even very small ones, floating in the space environment. It allows satellite operators to avoid collisions in space. Montreal is to host the data processing and information transmission center.

The NorthStar team should be able to start collecting the first data within two months. The satellites built and operated by Spire Global are in orbit, but there is still a lot of positioning and deployment work to be completed, explains Mr. Bain. After years of work, the company is finally entering a more concrete phase of its growth.

“The real work begins now,” says the president of NorthStar, with good humor. Now we have to collect data, turn it into a service that works for customers and make money. »

Helped by Quebec

Alongside Investissement Québec (IQ), businessman Charles Sirois, the Luxembourg government and Rogers are among the company’s shareholders. The Quebec government has supported NorthStar to the tune of 32 million so far. It already counts the United States Department of Commerce among its clients. She expects her client list to grow with the milestone that has just been reached.

The last year has not been easy for NorthStar.

It was Virgin Orbit, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, which was to put NorthStar’s first satellites into orbit. The company had to find a plan B last spring when Virgin Orbit took shelter from its creditors before ceasing its activities.

Rocket Lab was supposed to take over, but an “anomaly” detected during a launch in New Zealand last September delayed the NorthStar launch scheduled for the following month. These delays forced Mr. Bain to approach its owners as part of a 20 million financing round. IQ had handed over 6.6 million.

“It was hard,” confides Mr. Bain. Our team had to work really hard to change launchers and support Spyer [le constructeur et opérateur de satellites] in this transition. Financially, it was not easy either. We took the opportunity to ensure that our operational risk management was adequate and work on our algorithms [de collecte et d’analyse de données]. In every obstacle, there are opportunities. »

Sooner or later, NorthStar will have to consider deploying new satellites in space. The current constellation can generate an “interesting turnover”, affirms the boss of the company, but the “critical mass” is 12 satellites. The businessman did not want to say when the next launches could take place.

In the longer term, the company wants to deploy satellites equipped with hyperspectral cameras into orbit. Their images would be analyzed by systems based on artificial intelligence. These would be able to measure the irrigation of a field on behalf of a farmer, detect a leak in an oil pipeline or identify the risk of fire in a forest.