To build upon this capability, the follow-on Surveillance of Space 2 (SofS2) project was established by the Royal Canadian Air Force to maintain continuous space domain awareness and protect national space assets. I don't know current status of this program.
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There are also recent defence initiatives involving the Canadian military and outer space. Under the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project–Polar (ESCP-P), the federal government awarded Telesat a contract to integrate secure military communications payloads into its upcoming Low Earth Orbit Lightspeed LEO constellation.
Furthermore, on the east coast, the development of Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso by Maritime Launch Services (partly funded by DND) has positioned the site as a multi-user facility intended to provide sovereign commercial and government launch services for polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
Further to the above ... on this topic, surfing I dug up some information on some upcoming Canadian military space programs. I may have details below incorrect, but this what I gather. ..
Redwing and LISSA
I read Redwing and LISSA form a cooperative research and development mission led by Canada's Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), in partnership with the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), to advance space domain awareness.
Purportedly, scheduled for launch in 2027 into a sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit approximately 575 km above Earth, the Redwing microsatellite will act as the primary host spacecraft and deploy the shoebox-sized LISSA (Little Innovator in Space Situational Awareness) 6U nanosatellite once in orbit, allowing the two to fly in tandem up to 200 km apart along the same orbital track.
I read that, together, the satellites are intended to investigate and characterize objects in congested orbital environments, such as commercial mega-constellations. Redwing will use a visible-light imaging payload to observe and track space objects, and will also explore tracking objects in orbits approaching cislunar distances (approximately 380,000 km from Earth). Trailing behind it, LISSA will carry an experimental short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera provided through the UK Dstl partnership, designed to address the challenges of reflected light from clouds and ice over the Antarctic South Pole during summer. This will allow researchers to compare observations from both spacecraft and aid in the development of future operational surveillance capabilities.
Surveillance of Space 2 (SofS 2)
As noted in my own post that I quoted, Surveillance of Space 2 (SofS 2) is Canada's new separate, larger follow-on defence program designed to replace and expand upon the capabilities of the original Sapphire satellite (which was launched in 2013). The project has a published funding range of $250 million to $499 million, where SofS 2 is designed to combine next-generation space-based sensors with a distributed network of ground-based optical observatories to detect, track and characterize deep-space Earth-orbiting objects.
I recall, in March 2026, Canada's Defence Investment Agency awarded MDA Space a $32-million contract to establish three remotely operated optical telescope sites in Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick, with the three sites expected to be delivered by June 2028. I believe these facilities are planned to operate alongside space-based sensors as part of an integrated surveillance architecture.
So in summary, while Redwing and LISSA are experimental satellites designed to test new technologies and techniques for tracking objects in space, SofS 2 is a separate, larger defence program intended to maintain and improve on Canada's long-term space surveillance capabilities through a combination of space-based sensors and ground-based observatories. My speculation is that it will also contribute surveillance data to allied networks, including the U.S. Space Surveillance Network.
arstechnica.com
