The big step for humanity
July 6, 2026 – Defence Stories
Estimated read time – 1:18
Caption
From the deck to deep space: exploring the technologies shaping the future of communication, navigation, and discovery.
Photo credit: Combat Camera
Space has always been easy to romanticize: the Moon landing, satellites crossing the night sky, the mystery beyond the blue. For Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), space is much closer than it looks. It is a research environment, a testing ground and an increasingly important part of defence.
Through projects like Gray Jay, a Canadian-led DRDC microsatellite mission launched in January 2025, Canada is testing how small satellites can improve awareness in the Arctic. Built in Canada and made up of three small satellites, Gray Jay is helping explore how space-based Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) can support Arctic sovereignty.
For Canada, that matters. The Arctic is vast, remote, and difficult to monitor. Ships, aircraft, and ground systems are important, but they cannot be everywhere at once. Satellites can help fill the gap by providing information from above.
DRDC is also looking at space itself. Through Redwing, its space domain awareness microsatellite project, DRDC will help Canada better understand what is orbiting Earth. As space becomes more crowded with satellites, debris, commercial constellations, and old rocket bodies, knowing what is there is becoming a defence priority.
“In 2027, the Redwing will be launched and will give us a very good idea of what is up there,” said Nina Bigras, Section Head, Space and ISR Applications at the Ottawa Research Centre.
Before technologies become operational, they have to be tested and understood. That is DRDC’s expertise. It helps Canada move from ideas to evidence.
DND and the Canadian Armed Forces rely on space for communications, navigation, surveillance, search and rescue, Arctic sovereignty, and NORAD operations. For DRDC, the work starts earlier: asking what Canada needs from infrastructure in orbit and helping find the answers.
Find out more about DRDC’s work in space by reading DRDC spotlight (accessible only on the National Defence network).