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MDA Space is working on a follow-on to the Canadarm2 attached to the International Space Station.
MDA Space is continuing with Canadarm3 work even as it discusses its future with the Canadian Space Agency in the wake of NASA’s decision to abandon the Lunar Gateway that was supposed to use the device.
The company in 2024 secured a contract to develop and deliver the Canadarm3, a high-tech robot designed to take care of the Gateway. But NASA’s decision in April to shelve Gateway to pursue a Moon base has caused uncertainty about the future application of the system.
“There are a series of conversations that are occurring in parallel about the opportunity to potentially pivot that capability toward the lunar surface and the lunar program,” MDA Space CEO Mike Greenley said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call. For now, it is “full steam ahead,” he noted.
Conversations around the program are exploring how the system can be best applied on the lunar surface, Greenley said on the May 7 call.
The CEO also said the company was starting to have promising conversations with potential customers concerning its Chorus synthetic aperture radar system. The company has finalized nine customer contracts and has 32 letters of intent around the world, he said. The system is now due for launch before year’s end, after MDA once targeted a 2025 deployment.
MDA Space last month also launched its Midnight rendezvous and proximity operations spacecraft. Those customer talks will take a while, Greenley noted, given government procurement cycles.
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