Canadian Firm Nets Hubble Repair Deal

[zavvy]

<b>Canadian Firm Nets Hubble Repair Deal</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd said Wednesday it has signed a $154 million deal to help NASA's controversial repair mission to fix the aging Hubble Space Telescope.<br /><br />The Canadian firm, which built the Canadarm robotic arm technology used on NASA's space shuttles, said it will supply "potential information and robotic servicing solutions" for the Hubble repair mission.<br /><br />NASA officials said in August they planned to use the Canadian robot technology in a bid to replace fading batteries and gyroscopes on the telescope that has helped scientists explore the origins of the cosmos since its launch in 1990.<br /><br />The decision was blasted by a scientific panel that said in December it would be better to use shuttle astronauts for the repairs, because the robot plan was technologically riskier and less likely to succeed.<br /><br />The U.S. space agency had planned to use astronauts for the repair, but canceled the idea after the shuttle Columbia disaster in February 2003 that killed seven astronauts.<br /><br />MDA chief executive Dan Friedmann said the Hubble project would demonstrate that robots can perform critical tasks in space.<br /><br />"The Hubble mission and our strategic participation in other space missions will demonstrate that robots can cost-effectively complete complex tasks in space, while working together with astronauts on the ground." Friedmann said in a statement.<br /><br />Shares of MDA were up 10 Canadian cents at C$27.10 on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday afternoon.<br /><br />MDA signed a C$6.5 million deal in December with Lockheed Martin Corp. to work on docking technology that would allow spacecraft to rendezvous with Hubble and remove the space observatory from orbit.<br /><br />NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe told researchers in August that he wanted them to pre

 

[jcdenton]

Awesometacular! Thanks for the news. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>