The government announced Wednesday that a British Columbia-based communication and information company will build, launch an initially operate three radar satellites for the Canadian Space Agency
The $706 million project won by MacDonald Detwikker and Associates Ltd., of Richmond, B.C. will run over a period of seven year. The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is scheduled for launch in 2018.
“This is exciting news,” said Daniel Friedman, MDA president and CEO is a press statement issued by the company. “RCM builds on the world-leading geospatial and radar capabilities that MDA has developed through the RADARSAT -1 and RADARSAT – 2 missions.”
The RCM is a constellation of three satellites that will providing round-the-clock coverage, according to MDA. The satellites will circle the Earth every 96 minutes and take pictures of up to 95 per cent of the planet’s surface.
Information obtained from RCM can improve frequency of monitoring coastal zones, northern territories and Arctic waterways and other areas of strategic and defense interest, according to MDA. For instance, radar images provided by the satellites can support “immediate detection and identification” of ships worldwide.
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The satellites can also be used for a wide range of recurring monitoring needs for the oil and gas and mining industries.