MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA) announced today that the company has signed a contract with the NASA Johnson Space Center valued at $150 million (CDN).
The 5-year contract provides for ongoing engineering services of NASA’s
fleet of Canadarms outfitted on each of the Space Shuttle orbiters, and the
Robotic Workstations on the International Space Station.
A vital component of NASA’s shuttle program, Canadarm has demonstrated
exemplary performance. MDA will continue to support Canadarm under this
contract, and incorporate numerous upgrades and improvements to expand its
operational capabilities onboard the Shuttle.
The Robotic Workstations provide vital display, control and command links
to the Space Station’s robotics, cameras and video equipment.
Sustaining engineering for Canadarm2 on the International Space Station
is maintained under a separate contract with the Canadian Space Agency.
Mag Iskander, Vice President of the MDA Robotics Group, said: “The recent
decisions by the U.S. government to bolster the workload on the International
Space Station, and to extend the life of the Space Shuttle fleet by at least
another 20 years, make it clear that MDA’s robotic components are going to
play a key role in the important work being done in Space.”
The net addition to MDA’s backlog is $137 million (CDN), as this contract
subsumes $13 million of existing work. Of the $137 million, $40 million is
firm backlog at this time, and the rest is option backlog.
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For further information
Lynne Vanin, Manager, Public Affairs, MD
Robotics, 905-790-4466, lvanin@mdrobotics.ca
Ted Schellenberg, Media
Relations, MacDonald Dettwiler, 604-231-2215, teds@mda.ca
