MDA Space has come to the rescue, perhaps temporarily, of the David Florida Laboratory (DFL) which had been scheduled to be shut down.
The Canadian Space Agency said that an agreement had been reached with MDA Space to take over the operations of DFL and that “MDA Space intends to start offering services to Canada’s space sector as early as fall 2025.”
That MDA Space or anyone has to come to the aid of the government, should never have happened.
In March 2024 the CSA announced that DFL would close by the end of March 2025. And Éric Vachon from the Canadian Space Agency spoke to why this was happening at Space Canada’s Horizon conference on May 1, 2024 saying, “As a government agency, we are faced with exciting opportunities, but also with some challenges. One of them was the very difficult decision to close the David Florida Laboratory’s operations as of March 31st, 2025. This decision happened as part of the refocusing government spending exercise.”
That refocusing of government spending was the former Liberal government’s effort, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to cut costs with a growing deficit. All government departments were told to cut spending by 2%.
The space community reacted quickly and started a petition to save the one-of-a-kind facility in Canada. Why the CSA chose DFL as the cut from its base budget is a mystery. Having said that, it certainly faced a tough decision. And while the CSA’s budget has grown this year to a record level, it’s base budget is not growing. All the new money is earmarked for specific programs such as its lunar efforts.
In its press release the CSA stated the following:
The DFL is Canada’s world-class spacecraft assembly, integration, and test centre, located on Shirleys Bay Campus in Ottawa. Testing activities performed at the DFL constitute one of the last steps that spacecraft and space hardware undergo prior to space deployment to demonstrate its ability to survive the stresses of a rocket launch and the space environment.
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), has issued a one-year renewable occupancy licence to MDA Space to operate the DFL’s unique space testing facilities. MDA Space intends to start offering services to Canada’s space sector as early as fall 2025.
This occupancy licence is an interim measure to offer options to meet the Canadian space sector’s needs. In parallel, the Government of Canada is currently developing a longer-term real property strategy on the use and ownership of the building and the continued access to this highly specialized space testing centre in Canada.
The CSA was clear that this move is “an interim measure.” What comes next? Does the facility eventually become a permanent MDA facility? Clearly MDA is investing something to keep the facility going.
On its website, MDA states that the following services will be available; EMC testing, vibration testing, TVAC testing and antenna testing. The company also stated that they are “committed to providing fair and equitable access to all industry partners to test and validate their advanced technologies on a competitive fee-for-services basis.”
Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space said, “The David Florida Laboratory is an irreplaceable national asset and the operational transfer to industry at a time of rapid commercialization of the global and domestic space industry is a natural evolution. We are honoured to take on this responsibility to ensure DFL remains open to all industry for the long term, preserving Canada’s sovereign space capabilities and helping to foster innovation and growth across the Canadian space sector.”
Terms of the agreement we’re not released.