The contract will extend MDA's support of the Robotic Work Station on the International Space Station. The contract runs through September 2013 and includes two one-year options.
The Robotic Work Station is the control station used to operate Canadarm2 and plays an essential role in the capture and berthing of re-supply vehicles visiting the space station.
The contract runs through September 2013 and includes two one-year options.
This announcement comes during a period where the Canadarm2 and Dextre are being used to perform the first refuelling demonstrations on the ISS. The Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) is a sequence of events started on January 14. After a short delay on January 15 due to a software concern, the NASA/CSA team has performed four days of activities leading to day 5 where the transfer of liquid ethanol through a nozzle tool put into place by the Dextre robot will take place.
A successful demonstration could pave the way to future robotic missions to repair or refuel satellites in orbit.
In the video below, NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission performs a first-of-its-kind demonstration of a simulated fuel transfer in space.