Page 131 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.
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a fraction of the cost of comparable alternatives.
The company launched the world’s first high-resolution
As the task of data processing satellite designed to measure GHGs in 2016 and
grows larger and larger, space- is using this patented technology to provide GHG
emissions monitoring data and services globally.
based research is helping the GHGSat seeks to become the global reference for
make the tools for accomplishing remote sensing of GHG, air quality gas, and other trace
gas emissions from any source in the world. GHGSat’s
that task smaller and smaller. first demonstration satellite “Claire” uses a Xiphos
Q7 processor card to run its complex hyperspectral
payload and manage the immense amounts of data
produced every day.
In addition, Xiphos spun off other successful
a technology called programmable logic to perform commercial ventures, including XipLink, a technology
complex processing tasks at a fraction of the power company that provides software and hardware to
and weight of conventional computers. B4H 3rd Edition
speed up wireless and satellite data communications,
Q-cards have been spaceflight-proven and currently including Internet service for remote areas and
process experiment data onboard the space station. several countries.
The networked processors also provide high-
performance, fault-tolerant sensor processing for
other spacecraft. Xiphos hardware and software
are flying on several satellites and have powered
Automatic Identification System (AIS) payloads in
low Earth orbit for nearly ten years, allowing ships
to be tracked world-wide. Q-Card Processors
Cast a Wide
A spinoff company, GHGSat (www.ghgsat.com/),
developed nanosatellite monitoring of greenhouse gas Net to Collect
(GHG) emissions and air quality for various industries, Emissions Data
Economic
Scientific
including oil and gas, with better accuracy and at Xiphos Technologies (10 employees, $4M est.
Valuation
Valuation
annual revenue) has used ISS for development
and demonstration of its Q-Card processors
since 2004. From 2000-2016, they received
SCIENTIFIC
ECONOMIC
$666,000 in funding from CSA for the
VALUATION
VALUATION
development and commercialization of Q-cards.
Two companies have been spun-off from Xiphos
Technologies. XipLink (employs roughly 25,
$4M est. annual revenue) specializes in
optimization of data transmission over Wide
Area Network (WAN) and satellite links. GHGSat
(employs 40) received $2.3M in public funding
from Sustainable Development Technology
Canada. The GHGSat-D satellite, funded in
part by Imperial Oil, Shell, Canadian Natural
Resources Limited, and Suncor Energy,
Human Earth Observation Innovative Global Economic
launched in 2016. This satellite provides
The Q7 processor card, the latest in a product Health and Disaster Technology Education Development
information on greenhouse emissions at targeted
line that first flew on the ISS in 2003 and currently Response of Space
used for a wide range of applications including locations for its stakeholders. As of June 2018,
satellites, ISS experiments, and rover avionics. emissions data had been collected for over
Image credit: Xiphos Technologies (http://xiphos. 3,000 sites.
com/products/q7-processor/)
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