Both commercial and government ground station facilities are in operation just off Airport Road, something the Geographic Information Systems Day, celebrated November 15, looked to celebrate.
Stewart Burnett/黑料吃瓜网 photo
Jiri Raska, the station manager for the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility, toured high school students around the government facility last week.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pretty fascinating,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e often don鈥檛 think about what鈥檚 going on and how many pieces to this type of activity, how many people are actually involved in it and just how critical it is to managing our resources.鈥�
Canada鈥檚 ability to track changes in the Earth will become especially important should new passageways open up in the Arctic Ocean to prevent disasters and ensure vessel safety, he continued.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard for such a large nation with such a small population to be able to be up there and safeguard it,鈥� said Raska. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e going to have to rely on this type of technology.鈥�
One new piece of technology at the ISSF is a C-CORE radome operating as a proof of concept for self-levelling technology.
Most antennae have to be drilled into the permafrost on pilings so they stay completely stable. That process is expensive and time-consuming. But the new radome on site at the ISSF, though it is smaller than the other antennae, is testing out self-levelling technology that would greatly reduce the cost of installation, plus come with the ability to move the antenna in the future.
鈥淭he other idea too is with the radome, because they鈥檙e not in the ground we鈥檙e able to shield the dish from winds, so it doesn鈥檛 catch and create any more force on the platform,鈥� said Raska, adding that the dome shields the electronics inside as well.
C-CORE is currently using the radome to track a nanosatellite equipped with a hyperspectral sensor for measuring greenhouse gas emissions.
GIS Day events also included an open house at Aurora College. Sometime in the near future, two spaces are likely to open up for students to work on the ISSF and in town on a part-time basis.
Raska said Natural Resources Canada will be connecting with Gwich鈥檌n, Inuvialuit and other groups to publicize the opportunity, which will be available to high school graduates and people in higher education.
鈥淚t would be great to see a recent grad or somebody鈥檚 who鈥檚 between education (participate),鈥� said Raska.
He hopes to see the industry grow in town.
鈥淚 think that people at large, we tend to take for granted a lot of the behind-the-scenes things that Canada does to our benefit, and our contribution to the rest of the world with respect to Earth observation,鈥� said Raska.
