Kepler Communications has received a $500K contract from the Defence, Research and Development Canada (DRDC) SpaceLEO initiative.
Kepler is the third organization to be announced as receiving a SpaceLEO contract from DRDC. Other companies receiving contracts are Galaxia Mission Systems and C-CORE.
For this contract Kepler said it will “demonstrate real-time data sharing and connectivity for Continental Defence, including the Canadian Arctic.” They added that “Kepler’s commercial LEO constellation, The Kepler Network, will serve as a communication backbone to connect on-orbit platforms with multi-domain assets.” That network is expected to launch in early 2026.
SpaceLEO, short for Space Low Earth Orbit, is a research priority identified by DRDC that takes advantage of demonstrated advances in communication from low Earth orbit. This incudes the ability to “process a high volume of data with minimal delay, known as high throughput” and “low latency communications.”
DRDC said it “seeks to exploit these technological advances, undertaking research, development and analysis into the key technologies required to build a network of space assets which will connect different types of on-orbit capability, such as remote sensing, imaging and data processing. The goal is a resilient, flexible, scalable and secure space-based information ecosystem that can fulfil a wide variety of possible future mission requirements.”
“We are proud to be delivering the future of real-time connectivity for Canada’s Arctic,” said Mina Mitry, CEO and co-founder of Kepler Communications. “Kepler is committed to advancing sovereign, resilient communications infrastructure by enabling high-speed, secure, low-latency connections in one of the most challenging environments on Earth, strengthening Canada’s presence and capabilities in the North.”
