Today the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced that Brampton-based company MDA Space will receive $999.8M to continue work on Canadarm3 and begin detailed design, construction and testing. This milestone marks the last steps to finalize the design, construction and testing of this sophisticated robotic system before delivering Canada's contribution to Gateway, the next major international collaboration in human space exploration.
As a small outpost orbiting the Moon, Gateway will be located one thousand times further from Earth than the International Space Station (ISS) and will be crewed for only a portion of the year, unlike the continuous presence of astronaut crews on the ISS. Canadarm3 will serve as a critical component and will be used to maintain, repair and inspect Gateway, relocate modules, enable science in lunar orbit, help astronauts during spacewalks and capture spacecraft visiting the station. Much like Gateway itself, Canadarm3 operations will be highly autonomous, minimizing the need for direct human intervention, representing a leap forward in spacecraft capability.
With hundreds of Canadian organizations expected to be involved in the Canadarm3 project, thanks to the application of Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, Canada is supporting innovative small and medium-sized businesses and research organizations from across the country. In turn, these companies get to position their capabilities to support cutting-edge space-related activities, such as on-orbit servicing, refuelling of satellites, mission enhancement, orbital debris management and in-space infrastructure assembly. Canadarm3 is driving Canadian businesses and their technologies forward.
