International project to be the largest radio
telescope ever built
BRAMPTON, ON, June 3, 2024
/PRNewswire/ - MDA Space Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a trusted mission partner
to the rapidly expanding global space industry, today announced it
has been awarded a contract by the National
Research Council of Canada
(NRC) to support the development, construction and integration of
game-changing radio telescope technology for the Square Kilometre
Array Observatory (SKAO), an international space exploration and
astronomy project that seeks to further our understanding of the
formation and evolution of the universe.
The SKAO is the most ambitious ground-based astronomy project
ever undertaken, bringing together countries to build and operate
two telescopes for the global scientific community. Canada announced today that has formally
joined the SKAO, making it the tenth member of the
intergovernmental organization that currently includes Australia, China, Italy,
The Netherlands, Portugal, South
Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
The SKAO telescopes are made up of arrays of antennas, including
hundreds of mid to high frequency antennas in South Africa and over 100,000 low-frequency
antennas in Australia. As part of
its contract with the NRC, MDA Space will develop the
project's Correlator Beamformer, a powerful data processing engine
that will collect and process the large volumes of cosmic signals
received by the telescopes. Using state-of-the art embedded
computing technologies designed by MDA Space in collaboration with
the NRC, the signals will be processed thousands of times faster
than average computer download speeds, giving scientists rapid
access to vast quantities of new data and insight about the
universe.
"MDA Space is proud to be contributing to this important
international scientific endeavour that will listen and look out
into space to expand our understanding of the universe," said
Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space.
"Projects of this size, scope and significance present a unique
opportunity to showcase the expertise and innovation of Canadian
astronomers, astrophysicists and industry while driving new
discoveries and advancements in science and technology."
"SKAO has been a top priority for the Canadian astronomical
community for over 20 years, and it is very exciting to see
Canada's participation become a
reality," said Dr. Luc Simard,
Director General, NRC's Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics
Research Centre. "It opens the door to ground-breaking discoveries,
cutting-edge technologies and societal benefits that will teach us
a lot about the universe we live in and how a large international
family of nations can explore it together."
ABOUT MDA
SPACE
Building the space between proven and possible, MDA Space
(TSX:MDA) is a trusted mission partner to the global space
industry. A robotics, satellite systems and geointelligence pioneer
with a 55-year+ story of world firsts and more than 450 missions,
MDA Space is a global leader in communications satellites, Earth
and space observation, and space exploration and infrastructure.
The MDA Space team of more than 3,000 space experts in Canada, the US and the UK has the knowledge
and know-how to turn an audacious customer vision into an
achievable mission – bringing to bear a one-of-a-kind mix of
experience, engineering excellence and wide-eyed wonder that's been
in our DNA since day one. For those who dream big and push
boundaries on the ground and in the stars to change the world for
the better, we'll take you there. For more information, visit
mda.space.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward–looking information within
the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects
the Company's current expectations regarding future events.
Forward–looking information is based on a number of assumptions and
is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results
and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or
implied by such forward–looking information. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors
discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information
Form available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com. MDA Space does
not undertake any obligation to update such forward–looking
information, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.
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SOURCE MDA Space