Mini satellites to revolutionise telecoms

Canadian researchers work on low-cost GPS satellites

Canadian researchers from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies are building a satellite the size of a milk carton that could bring low-cost global communications at a fraction of current costs.

The Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXpermiment version two (CanX-2), weighing just 3.5 kg, will be put into orbit next year. Its small size and weight allow it to use much smaller, more efficient rockets to get into orbit. 

The satellite can be fitted with a receiver and used as part of a global positioning system, such as the EU's forthcoming Galileo project. 

Other planned payloads include a network communications experiment, an atmospheric spectrometer to measure greenhouse gases and space materials experiments.

In the longer term scientists want to use the satellites to test formation flying in space. This will be vital in building the next generation of space telescopes to replace Hubble.

Nasa is already planning a mission to build such a space telescope, involving satellites focusing lenses while flying hundreds of miles apart, vastly increasing the telescope's resolution.