October 25, 2017 - Canadian Space Agency Announces Satellite Research Program

On October 25, 2017, the Canadian Space Agency announced CUBICS (CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM), a $2.85 million satellite research program aimed at helping your post-secondary institution design, build, launch, and operate CubeSats. You can receive up to $200,000 in non-repayable funding to train the next generation of Canadian space professionals. The program has since awarded 15 grants and deployed 11 Canadian-made CubeSats — and there's plenty more to uncover about what this program can do for your team.

Key Takeaways

• On October 25, 2017, the Canadian Space Agency announced the CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS) program.
• CUBICS supports Canadian post-secondary institutions in designing, building, launching, and operating CubeSats for student research.
• The program has a budget of $2.85 million over four years, offering non-repayable grants up to $200,000.
• CUBICS aims to award up to 13 grants, targeting one per Canadian province and territory.
• The initiative focuses on training the next generation of space professionals and fostering student STEM engagement.

What Is the CSA's 2017 CubeSat Grant Program?

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) launched its 2017 CubeSat Grant Program on October 25, 2017, under its Class Grant & Contribution program to help post-secondary institutions design, build, launch, and operate CubeSats. Falling under the CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS), the program targets one grant per province and territory, totaling up to 13 grants. Its educational outreach focus drives student engagement in STEM, business, and communications while fostering highly qualified researchers in CSA priority areas.

The CSA covers launch costs from the International Space Station, removing a significant financial barrier for institutions. Policy implications include a total budget of $2.85 million over four years, with government assistance covering up to 100% of eligible project costs. Individual grants are capped at $200,000, or up to $250,000 for proposals involving a territory.

Each selected institution is given 24–36 months to develop its CubeSat, providing teams with a structured timeline to complete their systems from initial development through final verification. Researchers and students seeking additional context on space science topics can explore online fact-finding tools to quickly access concise, categorized information relevant to their studies.

Who Can Apply for a CSA CubeSat Grant and How Much Funding Is Available?

Building on the program's structure and budget, understanding who's eligible and how much funding's available helps institutions decide whether to apply.

If you're a Canadian post-secondary institution, such as a college or university, you qualify as one of the eligible institutions under this program. Your organization must be established and operating within Canada. Foreign entities without Canadian operations, individuals, and sole proprietorships can't apply.

Regarding funding amounts, grants range from $200,000 to $250,000 per award, and the CSA awarded 15 grants total through this program. These are non-repayable contributions, meaning you won't need to pay the money back.

Your proposal must align with the Announcement of Opportunity requirements, and you'll need to demonstrate relevant Earth observation or geospatial expertise to strengthen your application. Successful teams will be responsible for designing, building, testing, and operating their CubeSats as part of missions lasting up to 12 months. Similarly, agricultural science initiatives such as Afghanistan's 1974 national laboratory network demonstrated how evidence-based scientific programs can benefit communities when structured around clear objectives and provincial infrastructure.

Funding is distributed on a reimbursement-based payment model, meaning your organization will need to cover eligible expenses upfront before receiving payment from the CSA.

How Does the ISS Launch and 36-Month Mission Timeline Work?

Once your CubeSat secures funding, it'll need a reliable path to orbit, and the ISS serves as that launch platform. Launch sequencing determines when your payload reaches the station, with vehicles like Falcon 9 delivering components through commercial resupply missions, such as the CRS SpX-28 flight on June 5, 2023. Understanding this sequence helps you plan your deployment window accurately.

Your 36-month mission timeline begins once your CubeSat deploys from the ISS. Crew rotation plays a role here, as incoming expeditions support ongoing payload operations and maintenance. The ISS has maintained continuous human presence since Expedition 1 arrived in November 2000, ensuring your mission has active crew support throughout its operational life. Plan your research milestones around crew schedules to maximize data collection efficiency. The station orbits at approximately 410 km altitude, completing a full orbit roughly every 90 minutes, which affects communication windows and data downlink opportunities for your CubeSat mission. The ISS is a collaborative effort managed by five space agencies representing fifteen countries, meaning your CubeSat may benefit from international expertise and shared resources across the program.

What CubeSat Will Your Team Build, Operate, and Experiment With?

With your launch timeline mapped out, you can now focus on what you'll actually send to orbit. Your team will design, build, and operate a 1U or 2U CubeSat conducting scientific experiments or technology validation over up to 12 months post-deployment.

Your payload design must support real space environment testing, while thermal testing guarantees your satellite survives the harsh orbital conditions. Once deployed, you'll manage groundstation operations remotely, executing experiments and collecting data throughout your mission.

Beyond the hardware, you'll also develop an outreach strategy featuring targeted public engagement activities that connect communities to your mission's progress. Whether you're validating new technology or running scientific experiments, your CubeSat represents a hands-on contribution to Canada's growing space research capabilities. CUBICS Stream 2 grants provide up to $350,000 for end-to-end CubeSat projects, ensuring teams have the funding needed to see their mission through from design to operation. Much like the Hungarian naming traditions that celebrate personal milestones and contributions to culture, each CubeSat mission marks a meaningful achievement for the teams and communities involved.

The Canadian CubeSat project supports up to 13 grants of $200,000 each for professors and students to design, build, and operate satellites deployed directly from the International Space Station.

What Past Canadian CubeSat Missions Show Student Teams Can Achieve

The Canadian CubeSat Project has already shown what student teams can pull off: 11 Canadian-made CubeSats are now in orbit, with the first deployments happening between 2022 and 2023 through International Space Station launches. Missions like Ex-Alta 3 measure ice and snow coverage for climate research, while Concordia's SC-ODIN targets orbital dust imaging. These achievements reflect both hands-on innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, with teams drawing from engineering, computer science, physics, and business to design, build, test, and operate complete satellite systems.

Your team can follow this same path. Past student teams have tackled radiation mitigation, wildlife tracking, and ocean monitoring, all while conducting real science in orbit. These missions prove that student-led projects can deliver meaningful results beyond the classroom. The CUBICS program has already trained over 2,000 students through its predecessor initiative, demonstrating the scale of impact these satellite projects can have on the next generation of space professionals.

The University of Saskatchewan's CubeSat mission, for example, received $200,000 from CSA to study how extreme temperatures, radiation, and space debris degrade materials ranging from ceramics to space suit fabrics in low Earth orbit.