Communications satellites in Canadian security policy: History and prospects
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00207020211016476 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essay |
Scholarly Essay
Communications
satellites in Canadian
security policy: History
and prospects
Elinor Sloan
Department of Political Science, Carleton University,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
This article traces Canada’s early interest in space, before turning to its late 1960s
decision to focus on a domestic, commercial/civilian communications satellite system in
geostationary orbit and the subsequent decline in Canada’s military space efforts. It
then highlights the wake-up call of the 1991 Gulf War, which demonstrated the critical
importance of military communications satellites to future operations, and the steps
Canada has taken to gain assured access to such satellites in the decades since. The final
section outlines recent advances in low Earth orbit satellite communications (LEO
satcom) and the ways in which these systems can address shor tfalls in their geosta-
tionary cousins. Drawing reference to a new international security environment, it
concludes that Canada should move expeditiously to incorporate LEO satcom into
efforts to address the growing imperative of military satellite communications in the
Canadian Arctic.
Keywords
Satellite, space, communication, security, defence, military, Canada, Telesat, SpaceX,
Arctic
Corresponding author:
Elinor Sloan, Carleton University, Department of PoliticalScience, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario,
K1S 5B6, Canada.
Email: elinor.sloan@carleton.ca
International Journal
2021, Vol. 76(2) 204–220
!The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00207020211016476
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Canada entered the space age on 28 September 1962 when an American rocket
lifted its Alouette satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California. It was a tremendous technological achievement for Canada, at most
a middle power on the international stage, to become the third country in space
after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in October 1957, and the United States
(US) its scientific satellite, Explorer 1, in early 1958. But thoughts of prestige did
not figure into Canada’s decision in the late 1950s to develop, build, and launch a
satellite. Rather, the immediate driver behind the Alouette project was a military
one and the strategic considerations of the Cold War.
Alouette was a scientific satellite with an information-gathering mission central
to communications: to study the ionosphere with a view to improving radio trans-
mission in Canada’s high north. As such, its launch opened minds in Canada to the
role communications satellites (i.e., those that relay information between two
points on Earth via a transponder) could play in tying together a geographically
vast and sparsely populated country, a sort of “orbital CN Rail.” In the decades
since Alouette’s launch, the place of communications satellites in Canadian
security policy has waxed and waned. Political choice, cost, technological and
physical limitations, and the availability of other options have all been factors.
Today, we are on the cusp of a revolution in communications satellite technology
that promises to significantly increase the role communications satellites play in
Canadian security policy.
This article traces Canada’s early interest in space, before turning to its late
1960s decision to focus on a domestic, commercial/civilian communications satel-
lite system in geostationary orbit.
1
Satellites placed in this orbit, lying about 36,000
kilometres above the equator, have a 24-hour orbital period and therefore appear
fixed above Earth. The article then highlights the wake-up call of the 1991 Gulf
War, which demonstrated the critical importance of military communications sat-
ellites to future operations, and the steps that Canada has taken since then to gain
assured access to military communications satellites. The final section outlines
recent advances in low Earth orbit satellite communications (LEO satcom) and
the ways in which these new systems, orbiting between 300 and 2000 kilometres
above Earth, can address shortfalls in the capabilities of their geostationary
cousins. It concludes that Canada should move expeditiously to incorporate
LEO satcom, particularly the system offered by Telesat, Canada’s original
domestic satellite communications company, into efforts to address the growing
imperative of guaranteed military access to satellite communications in the
Canadian Arctic.
1. This article focuses on communications satellites in Canadian security policy. Space in Canadian
security policy is a much bigger topic involving the use of satellites not just for communications but
also for Earth imaging, the surveillance of space, search and rescue, and ballistic missile detection. A
current challenge is how to use satellites to detect cruise missiles, bombers, and fighters as a space-
based replacement for the North Warning System of ground-based radars.
Sloan 205
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