Canada extends MDA Spaces ISS robot contract until 2030

Tampa, Florida.

In addition to the operational readiness support MDA Space has provided for the International Space Station Mobile Servicing System since 2001, the contract now also includes robotic flight controller responsibilities.

MDA Space previously provided training only to CSA and NASA staff in operating the system, which includes the station’s 17-meter Canadaarm2 robotic arm, as well as mission planning and engineering support.

國際太空站的絕大多數機器人操作都是由地面飛行控制員進行的，支援來訪太空船的停泊、太空站周圍設備的搬遷和維修、監測和調查太空站的損壞情況，以及在太空行走期間協助astronaut.

Starting in January 2025, MDA Space will control robotic operations with a team initially based at CSA Mission Control in Quebec, Canada.

Commercial promotion

Flight controller support is also part of a new line of modular robotics technology and services launched by MDA Space on April 10 called Skymaker, which the company hopes will help it after decades of government work Access emerging business opportunities.

The company’s recently opened mission control center in Ontario, Canada, operates Skymaker technology on behalf of customers.

Holly Johnson, vice president of robotics and space operations at MDA Space, said in an interview that they don’t have to be experts in space robotics and operations and try to review all the scar tissue knowledge we’ve learned over time.

We will package it into a complete end-to-end mission service and operation product.

Skymaker includes a kit of parts for robotic arms ranging in length from 1 meter to over 15 meters.

Johnson said the company is seeing increasing demand for space robots in the commercial market.

Last year, MDA Space was awarded the contract to build the grapple fixture and anchor interface, which Axioms proposed would need to be compatible with robotics for commercial space stations.

The company also provides robotics technology to a commercial team recently selected by NASA to work on a lunar rover concept that could be offered as a service.

Johnson told us we are in discussions with multiple customers interested in on-orbit servicing, space assembly and space manufacturing space news.

MDA Space has historically been known for providing large-scale customized high-performance robotic systems (such as Canadarm2).

But Johnson said Skymaker meets more diverse needs by covering robotics at different lengths and strengths.

“We can go around corners or around stations, and our robots can be anywhere from 1 meter to more than 15 meters long,” she added.

Some robots require dexterous handling, others require crane-like operations, so our scalable solutions say to our customers: let us do the heavy or light lifting.

Skymaker is primarily intended for spacecraft that are at least the size of a dishwasher, Johnson said.

governmental support

MDA Space is also currently developing a robotic arm system for the U.S.-led Gateway space station, which is planned to orbit the moon and represents Canada’s contribution to the program.

News of Canada’s ISS robotic expansion comes a day after the country’s government proposed the creation of a National Space Council as part of the government’s new approach to space exploration, technology development and research.

The committee was announced as part of Canada’s 2024 budget request, which includes providing approximately $6 million to the Canadian Space Agency in 2024-25 for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP), which invests in lunar exploration of the lunar surface. Orbital science and technology activities, and beyond.

Skymaker’s announcement is also part of a broader transformation of MDA Space, a provider of robotics, satellite systems and geographic intelligence that listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2020 after being spun off from Maxar Technologies.

The company was founded nearly 55 years ago as MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates.

The company changed its name to MDA Space on March 7, and a few weeks later named its software-defined satellite product line Aurora.

Aurora’s main customer, Canadian geostationary operator Telesat, has ordered the first 198 satellites for its low-Earth orbit broadband network Lightspeed under a contract worth approximately $1.6 billion. SpaceX will begin launching satellites in 2026.

Johnson said that since splitting from Maxar four years ago and becoming a public company, MDA Space has been able to invest significantly in next-generation products, roadmaps and technology across all areas of its business.

The company’s space robot competitors include Maxar, US Redwire and Japan’s GITAI.

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