SCI-TECH

B.C. company wins contract to design International Space Station cameras

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, June 18, 2015 1:14PM EDT

Space camera contract given to Vancouver company

The Canadarm 2 reaches out to capture the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft and prepare it to be pulled into its port on the International Space Station Friday April 17, 2015. The International Space Station needs new cameras and an $11-million contract to design their replacement has been awarded to a Vancouver-area company. (AP/NASA)

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VANCOUVER -- The International Space Station needs new cameras and an $11-million contract to design their replacement has been awarded to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX:MDA).

The Vancouver-area company -- which designed the space station's robotic maintenance system -- says the new cameras will provide better illumination for viewing critical operations.

They are part of a mobile servicing system that's used to inspect and maintain the space station and to capture visiting spacecraft such as resupply vessels.

The contract was awarded by the Canadian Space Agency, a federal program based in Montreal.