When the Fram2 science mission, a private spaceflight, will launch as soon as March 31, a Canadian company will play an important role.
University of Waterloo spinoff KA Imaging is providing a spectral X-ray detector, the Reveal 35C, that will go aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft for the three- to five-day private spaceflight. It will be a key component of the SpaceXray project, which will bring the first medical X-ray machine to space.
If successful, Fram2 will represent the first crewed mission to study both polar regions from a low Earth orbit.
Researchers will use the X-ray system to study the effects of microgravity on astronauts’ bone densities as well as gauge the quality of the imagery. KA’s technology melds the conventional digital radiograph with images of bones and soft tissue. Astronauts lose about 1-2 percent of their bone density per month while in microgravity.
Medical X-rays have been impractical in space until now. Size, weight, and power requirements have limited them to Earth. On top of KA’s detector, the in-space tech revolves around a portable X-ray system from US-based MinXray. The generator can run on a lithium-ion battery, eliminating the need for power from the spacecraft itself.
If successful, Fram2 will represent the first crewed mission to study both of Earth’s polar regions from a low Earth orbit. The X-ray study will represent just one of the projects. The crew will also study aurora-like behavior and conduct amateur radio transmissions.
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The four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon capsule are all civilians new to spaceflight, but with experience studying Earth’s poles. Mission commander Chun Wang (who is funding the project) and vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen both hail from Norway. Pilot Rabea Rogge will be the first female German astronaut, while mission specialist Eric Philips is an explorer from Australia.
Academic contributors include the Mayo Clinic, MIT, and St. Louis University.
KA Imaging was founded by CEO Amol Karnick, CTO Karim Karim and the late Sina Ghanbarzadeh. Karnick is a veteran of the medical device industry who has worked at both startups as well as industry giants like GE Healthcare.
Canada has played a significant role in space technology, most notably contributing the Canadarm robotic arms used aboard Space Shuttles and the International Space Station. It has had a relatively limited impact on private spaceflight, however. Most notably, the early-2000s Canadian Arrow spacecraft project fell short of winning the X-Prize competition for taking civilians into space. Aerospace entrepreneur Burt Rutan’s company Scaled Composites won the challenge in 2004.
Update 4/7/2025: The mission was successful, and produced the first X-ray image in space. Wang shared a picture of a person’s hand wearing a ring, echoing the first X-ray image captured by physicist Wilhelm Roentgen in December 1895.
Feature image courtesy of Fram2. X-ray image courtesy of Chun Wang on X.