MDA Space wins C$688 million CSA contract to build RADARSAT replenishment satellite
MDA Space · Canadian Space Agency
The award covers build, launch, commissioning and ground upgrades for a CHORUS-based SAR satellite, per SpaceQ.
what happened
The Canadian Space Agency awarded MDA Space a C$688 million contract to build and launch a synthetic aperture radar replenishment satellite that will integrate with the existing RADARSAT Constellation Mission, per SpaceQ. The contract includes manufacturing, launch services, commissioning and ground-control enhancements, follows a C$44.7 million long-lead award from December, and bases the satellite on MDA's fourth-generation CHORUS bus, with assembly, integration and testing in Montreal.
why it matters
This is the build-phase money behind Canada's sovereign SAR continuity, and it lands three weeks after the same agency's C$2.4 million ground-segment concept studies: MDA now holds both the long-lead and full build contracts for the RADARSAT follow-on. For SAR competitors selling to Ottawa, the replenishment path is now locked to a domestic prime into the 2030s.
for who
SAR operators, Canadian suppliers, government EO procurement watchers
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- MDA Space, Canadian Space Agency
- Category
- procurement
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-06-30
- Published
- 2026-07-08 13:37 UTC