Nano2Sol by Marc Boucher

Yesterday’s acquisition of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) by Alliant Techsystems (ATK) is bad for Canada for so many reasons. It’s reminiscent of when Avro Canada closed down and most of their talent headed to the US and were instrumental in helping them with the Apollo program. While MDA is not shutting down operations in Canada it should be asked what the long term viability is for them in Canada. After all the Canadian dollar is stronger than the US dollar and the Canadian government seems indifferent to sustaining a space sector made in Canada.

MDA is the leading space company in Canada. Best known for the Canadarm which it acquired from another Canadian company, Spar Aerospace in 1999, MDA has led the way in Canada for the space commercialization sector. It’s also known for its satellite systems which included the recently launched Radarsat-2. Their planetary robotics division had been growing and the Canadian Space Agency had been hoping that it would be a key contributor to the European Space Agencies ExoMars rover by having Canada build the rover through MDA. Even if the government had changed its mind and approved this plan it seems unlikely to do so now that MDA would be under foreign control.

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