UTIAS/SFL was established in 1998 with funding from Dynacon Incorporated, the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund, and the Center for Earth and Environmental Technologies (ETech). It has a full-time staff of professionals in addition to design, assembly, and test facilities to develop low-cost spacecraft. The Space Flight Laboratory is the first, and at present, only university laboratory in Canada that has built and retains the capability to build low-cost spacecraft such as microsatellites (satellites under 100 kg) and nanosatellites (satellites under 10 kg).

In 1998, UTIAS/SFL was entrusted with the responsibility to design, build and test four of six critical subsystems for the MOST (Microvariability and Oscillations of STars) microsatellite, specifically, the structural, thermal, computer and communication subsystems. In addition, UTIAS/SFL was responsible for the integration and qualification of the satellite. Development efforts culminated in a successful launch of Canada's first space telescope at 14:15 UTC 30 June 2003. MOST was inserted into a 820 km dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit.

At present, UTIAS/SFL is heading operations for the MOST satellite from the mission control center located at UTIAS/SFL. Canada's first home-built space science satellite in over 30 years is currently three-axis stabilized with an average pointing accuracy of better than 5 arcseconds, and science operations are underway. MOST represents a successful collaboration among industrial, academic and government stakeholders.

By the completion of the MOST project and the launch of the satellite on 30 June 2003, over 80 graduate students had been trained through thesis and course projects related to the astronomy mission. A full-time staff had been hired and trained by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, or "AMSAT," an organization that has trained all the giants of the microspace industry since the 1960's. The staff had acquired hands-on experience in building MOST, experience that presently enables them to support world-class research and practical student training in space systems engineering.

In 2001, to further enhance UTIAS/SFL's research and educational offerings, the Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment (CanX) Program was established. This program engages small teams of graduate students, under the mentoring of the UTIAS/SFL staff, to build their own satellite in less than two years. The objective is to involve Master students in the complete spacecraft development cycle, from mission conception through actual on-orbit operations, by the time they complete their Masters degree. These tiny 1 to10 kg satellites, called "nanosatellites," also serve to provide low cost access to space for scientific or engineering research. The first nanosatellite, CanX-1, was completed in 22 months and was launched on the same rocket that carried MOST on 30 June 2003. Nanosatellite research enables significant advances in the low-cost miniaturization of high-performance space systems that can be used in many different satellite applications, including communications, space science, remote sensing, Earth observation, and global monitoring. No other university in Canada offers anything remotely similar to the CanX program at present.

In addition to micro and nano spacecraft projects, the Space Flight Laboratory engages in technology research to facilitate the microspace revolution. Active research programs include deep space communications, electric propulsion, and a component radiation effects and mitigation program to enable far-reaching missions with low-cost spacecraft exploiting mass-produced commercial components. These programs and others are helping to change the traditional spacecraft development paradigm. Through technology transfer, Canadian space companies are able to increase product offerings and open new markets with SFL technology. The ultimate social and economic benefits include larger pools of highly qualified personnel generated and retained within Canada, greater export sales, lower entry barriers for small business and job creation in the space sector.