MDA selected as satellite contractor for Telesat satellite constellation
by CM staff
The contract is valued at approximately $2.1 billion for 198 satellites.
BRAMPTON — MDA Ltd., a provider of technology and services to the global space industry, has been selected as the prime contractor for Telesat’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation Telesat Lightspeed, an global network that will bring enhanced digital connectivity to Canadians and customers worldwide.
“We’re pleased to partner with Telesat to use the combined world-leading talent and technology of our teams to bring the Telesat Lightspeed mission to life,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA. “Our ability to leverage MDA’s strategic investments in our new digital satellite product portfolio and advanced manufacturing capability to deliver significant cost and schedule benefits to Telesat Lightspeed is another tangible example of how we are strengthening and securing MDA’s position at the heart of the rapidly growing global LEO constellation and satellite systems market.”
The Telesat Lightspeed satellites will be built, assembled and tested at MDA’s satellite manufacturing facilities in Montreal. The production lines use Industry 5.0 techniques including AI, automation, cobots, augmented reality and highly-skilled assemblers to meet the accelerated rates required for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems. With this contract, Telesat becomes the anchor customer for MDA’s new software-defined digital satellite product line.
“We are excited to be moving forward on the Telesat Lightspeed program with MDA in an expanded role that enables us to leverage MDA’s innovative and advanced digital satellite products and real-world experience as a satellite prime for LEO programs,” said Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat. “MDA’s next-generation on-board processor and direct radiating array antennas with digital beamforming roughly triples the number of beams per satellite. This will enable us to achieve significant cost improvements and network efficiency, including better link performance and greater flexibility in geographic coverage. With program funding now in place and MDA selected as the satellite prime contractor, we look forward to making Telesat Lightspeed a reality and delivering unparalleled high capacity, secure, resilient and affordable broadband connectivity everywhere in the world.”
The Telesat Lightspeed contract will be added to MDA’s backlog in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
