INUVIK
Inuvik's unique spot on the North American satellite dish map has grown.

A new Natural Resources Canada satellite dish worth $10 million is in operation just outside of Inuvik. - photo courtesy of Claudine Couture

Natural Resources Canada has just put a $10 million dish into operation outside of Inuvik, not far from the airport.

It's the latest addition to the satellite dish farm that could represent an important component of Inuvik's future economy.

Claudine Couture, a spokesperson for Natural Resources Canada, explained the importance of the dish.

"It's the third (Natural Resources Canada dish) that is on the site," she said June 27 in a telephone interview.

Along with the dish, NRC is constructing a building to be used as an operations centre for the site.

"We started to work a while ago. The foundation for the dish was completed last fall, and the operations cabin was complete in March."

The dish was built in California and shipped to Inuvik in two segments, Couture said in early June. It took about a week to reach Inuvik. Assembly was complete on June 17, and it became operational a few days later.

"It's going to be used for reception of data from our satellites," she said. "The satellites are used to capture images of the Earth, and the antenna is used to download that data and distribute it from there."

The antenna is a two-way system that can also be used to send commands to satellites.

"It's Earth observation data," Couture said. "The satellites take images of the ground, and it can be used for a multitude of things. You can use it for emergency preparedness, you can use it for shipping and monitoring, and responsible resource development, and Northern sovereignty purposes."

The significance of the dish installation, Couture said, is that the antenna will "help provide coverage over Canada's North."

"That's something we did not have before. We didn't have cross-Canada coverage."

The satellites feeding data to the new dish have far northern orbits that take them over the North Pole, Couture said. That means coverage improves the further north a reception station is placed.

That's why Inuvik is one of the best spots in North America, and perhaps in the world, to pick up satellite transmissions.

"It's a geographic location of advantage for communicating with Earth observation satellites," she said. "It could be one of the most important satellite stations in the world."