Brampton space robotics company awarded $1-billion contract for next phases of Canadarm3

A Brampton-based space robotics company has won a $1-billion contract with the Canadian Space Agency for the next phases of the Canadarm3 robotics system.

MDA Space Ltd. is an international space mission partner which opened its new headquarters in Brampton last year with state-of-the-art labs, manufacturing, R&D, assembly and test facilities.

Dubbed the MDA Centre of Excellence, the facility houses a unique Space Robotics Mission Control Centre, letting MDA deliver critical operations capabilities to commercial and government customers worldwide.

The company is building the Canadarm3 which will be used aboard Gateway – a collaboration led by NASA to establish a space station in lunar orbit.

The Gateway project is a key part of NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon.

The contract includes funding for the final design phase as well as construction, system assembly, integration and test of the full robotics system.

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It will include a large arm, a smaller dexterous arm, specialized tools for performing maintenance and science tasks, as well as a ground segment for command and control. The contract will also include planning and personnel training in preparation for on-orbit mission operations.

The province helped with the development of MDA’s Brampton facility with a $25 million investment.

MDA has also worked with the Canadian government to keep an eye on the current military movements of Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.

Dozens of workers at the Brampton-based $100 million campus and space robotics facility went on strike in April, saying the company wouldn’t negotiate wages and cost of living protection. The nine-week-long strike ended in early June with a new collective agreement.