The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced today $47 million in funding towards several contracts for the RADARSAT+ initiative.
On October 18, 2023, then industry minister François-Philippe Champagne announced at the SpaceBound conference that Canada was going to invest $1.012 billion in funding over the next 15 years for the RADARSAT+ portfolio. That portfolio would include a replenishment satellite for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) and a fourth-generation satellite system to succeed the RCM.
Today’s announcement allocates $44.7 million to MDA Space towards purchasing long lead item specialized parts for a replenishment satellite for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM). As well, MDA Space, Kepler Communications and C-CORE have all been awarded $747,000 to design concept studies for Canada’s fourth-generation Earth observation satellite system.
The CSA said with respect to MDA Space’s larger contract that the (CSA) “explored agile procurement options to maintain uninterrupted access to critical satellite data supporting our country’s growing needs. In order to accelerate the delivery of this satellite, MDA Space has been awarded $44.7 million to purchase specialized parts.”
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said, “Through these investments, we are strengthening Canada’s space sector and ensuring Canadians continue to benefit from the satellite data that supports essential everyday services. In doing so, we are strengthening Canada’s sovereign satellite capabilities and equipping Canadian industry and governments with the tools to protect communities, support decision-making, and keep Canada secure.”
MDA Space said it expects the full contract for the RCM replenishment satellite to be awarded in 2026.
Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space said, “We are honoured to have been selected by the CSA to support the RCM replenishment satellite project. By leveraging the advanced development of the MDA CHORUS™ satellite design for this replenishment satellite, we can offer the CSA a cost-effective and timely solution that ensures continuity of service to meet the evolving needs of Canadian users. We look forward to finalizing the contract for the full mission and building upon our long history of collaboration to deliver critical space-based solutions for Canada.”
Canada has been a global leader in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology for three decades. RADARSAT-1 was launched on November 4, 1995.