Scientists prepare two of the RCM satellites for testing before they were launched into orbit on June 12. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CSA

Bryn Orth-Lashley is living every space enthusiast's dream as one of the leads on Canada's latest satellite mission. The Orleans' native is the Commission-ing Coordinator for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM).

The RADARSAT Mission is made up of three satellites which were launched simultaneously on June 12 aboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket. The trio of Earth observation satellites are capable of scanning the Earth day or night and in any weather conditions. The three-satellite configuration allows for daily revisits of Canada's vast territory and maritime approaches, as well as daily access to 90 per cent of the world's surface and the Arctic up to four times a day.

The RCM is designed to provide effective solutions in three main areas: Maritime surveillance (ice, surface wind, oil pollution and ship monitoring); Disaster management (mitigation, warn-ing, response and recovery); and Eco-system monitoring (agriculture, wetlands, forestry and coastal change monitoring). The data collected will help captains safely navigate through Arctic waters, farmers maximize their crop yields, first responders save lives, and much more.

Orth-Lashley first joined the project as a mission engineer. His job was to validate that the satellite system met all the required specifications as defined by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). He then transitioned to the Operations Development team based at CSA's Mission Control Centre in St Hubert, Quebec and is one of the Mission Planning Leads responsible for booking communication times with the satellites and generating the commands that were sent to the spacecraft to control it.

"Satellite missions are large under-takings involving many different compon-ents and people � I help to make sure that it all fits properly to ensure a successful mission.� explains Orth-Lashley who is a graduate of the International Baccalaureate program at Colonel By Secondary School.

"Principally, I am involved with over-seeing the implementation of the design of satellite systems from the satellite that gets launched into orbit to the software on the ground used to control the satellite to the personnel that actually operate the satellite.�

After graduating from high school, Orth-Lashley attended the University of Toronto where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Astronomy and Physics and eventually a Master's Degree in Astrophysics.

After earning his Master's, Orth Lashley did a brief stint in the UK where he helped develop software for the International Space Station. Not long afterwards, he returned to Canada to work on the RCM project for MDA, the same company that built RADARSAT-2 and the Canadarm, essentially making his childhood dream of launching something into space come true.

"It's thanks to the support of my family, friends, and mentors that I was able to make my childhood dream a reality,� says Orth-Lasley. "So thank you to the Orléans community.�

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)