MDA gets $3.5M NASA contract extension for space station support work

RICHMOND, B.C. – MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX:MDA) says NASA’s Johnson Space Center has exercised a one-year option extending its support of the robotic work station on the International Space Station.

The option, the first of two options outlined in a contractannounced in January, is valued at $3.5 million and runs through September 2014.

The Robotic Work Station is the control station used to operate Canadarm2 and plays an essential role in the capture and berthing of resupply vehicles visiting the space station, MDA said.

MDA, best-known for the robotic arms used on the space station and U.S. space shuttles, also provide satellite data and surveillance information and technology. It has some 4,500 employees operating from 11 locations in the United States, Canada and internationally.