Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University (SFU) was founded in 1965 on Burnaby Mountain near Vancouver, British Columbia, and has grown into one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with campuses in Burnaby, Vancouver, and Surrey. SFU's School of Engineering Science is home to the SFU Satellite Design Team, which participates in Canada's growing nanosatellite program.

The SFU Satellite Design Team collaborates with UBC Orbit on the ALEASAT mission — a 1U CubeSat aimed at providing Earth observation capabilities and disaster relief communications support. The team's involvement in ESA's Fly Your Satellite programme gives students access to ESA's professional qualification facilities in Belgium, providing authentic space engineering experience matching industry standards. ALEASAT underwent vibration testing at ESA's CubeSat Support Facility in Redu, Belgium, in February 2024.

SFU's engineering programmes have strong ties to British Columbia's technology sector, and the satellite team has benefited from mentorship from Canadian Space Agency alumni and private sector engineers at companies like MDA and Magellan Aerospace. SFU is also involved in space policy research through its academic partnerships with Canadian federal science agencies.