Waterloo imaging device is now aboard space station

A sophisticated optical imaging device developed by a company with strong ties to Waterloo Engineering has been sent into orbit for use by researchers aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The spectrometer from P&P Optica, a Waterloo company headed by alumna Olga Pawluczyk, was on a SpaceX rocket launched earlier this month to deliver supplies and research equipment under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

It uses light to determine the chemical composition of substances and will be employed on the ISS for experiments mainly involving the atmosphere and sunlight.

A graduate of systems design engineering at Waterloo, Pawluczyk  became chief executive officer of P&P, which was started by her father and her brother, in 2004. Its workforce has since doubled.

The company’s spectrometer – described by Pawluczyk as the “next logical step after the camera” – splits light into multiple colours to indicate the chemical structures of an item and has applications in the mining, oil and gas, defence and health-care fields.

After delivering about 2,250 kilograms of cargo to the ISS earlier this month, the Dragon spacecraft – launched from Cape Canaveral via the Falcon 9 rocket – is scheduled to return to Earth in late August.

For more information on Pawluczyk and P&P Optica, go to: engineerthefuture.ca/great-optics-for-endless-possibilities/