How RMC and University of Toronto are making it safer to fly across the world

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“A lot of people don't understand that [flights] aren't being covered by radar when we're flying over the ocean or high Arctic …we can't put a radar station in the middle of the ocean… [CanX-7's] updates are even faster than radar, so it's a more accurate system.”

Ron Vincent, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Space Research, Royal Military College of Canada

How RMC and University of Toronto are making it safer to fly across the world

It’s only a small satellite – measuring 10-cm, by 10-cm, by 34-cm – but it’s having big effects on plane travel. CanX-7, a satellite developed by the Royal Military College of Canada’s Space Science program and the University of Toronto, was launched into space in 2016 to track airplanes travelling over the North Atlantic, where pilots still announce their coordinates over radio. The tracking technology being tested on the satellite will allow for airplanes’ locations to be automatically tracked, allowing for more efficient and safer travel routes across the Atlantic.