MDA Space Missions

MDA'S SPACE ROBOTICS BUSY SUPPORTING SIMULTANEOUS MANNED AND UNMANNED MISSIONS

BRAMPTON, Ont. - It's a flurry of activity at MDA supporting two distinctly different and complex space missions - NASA's STS-117 shuttle mission and the groundbreaking Boeing/DARPA Orbital Express Demonstration mission. Both missions rely heavily on robotic systems developed by MDA to achieve both planned and unplanned mission operations.

As the 90-day Orbital Express Demonstration mission nears completion, MDA's advanced robotics, vision system and mission planning technologies have contributed to the string of world firsts credited to the mission. The mission underscores the value of mission-critical technologies provided by MDA to successfully perform on-orbit autonomous servicing in a well controlled manner, without risk of collision or damage to valuable space assets.



MDA's grapple fixture will be the industry-standard interface for on-orbit servicing	MDA lights and camera

Photo credit: Boeing/MDA
Video and additional Orbital Express images available at:
http://www.darpa.mil/orbitalexpress/mission_updates.html

Crowning achievements of the mission for MDA include mission-critical tasks using robotics, software, avionics, sensors, cameras, lights and ground control technology developed by MDA to perform the first:

- autonomous capture of a satellite
- autonomous video survey of spacecraft
- autonomous transfer of fuel to a satellite
- robotic transfer of a battery and a replacement flight computer to and from a satellite

"The success of the Orbital Express Demonstration mission is of significant strategic importance, proving out a capability previously thought not to be viable," said Paul Cooper, vice president and general manager of Space Missions at MDA. "These critical life extending capabilities offer spacecraft operators potential cost savings and greater operational flexibility for future space infrastructure applications."

The Orbital Express Flight Demonstration Mission is funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) and led by The Boeing Company.

While this pioneering unmanned mission is underway, MDA's robotics are also playing a critical role in manned space flight.

The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off May 8th and the first robotic operation was performed on flight day 2 when the shuttle arm and inspection boom performed a detailed visual inspection of the orbiters thermal protection system. The inspection detected an area of concern on an insulation blanket allowing NASA to plan a repair before the shuttle undocks from the station on its journey back to earth. The post-launch robotic inspection of the orbiter vehicle has become standard procedure to ensure the safety of the shuttle crew.

Immediately after docking at the space station work got underway in a complicated robotic maneuver to prepare for the handoff from the shuttle arm to the station arm of the heaviest payload to date, a 17-ton girder-like truss and set of solar arrays. In the days that followed, two generations of robotic arms worked in harmony to complete the installation of the truss segment. With the large segment in place robotic operations transitioned to a support role providing camera views to the crew members and ground crews, as well as supporting EVA activities. A final survey later today of the thermal tiles using the shuttle arm and inspection boom and Atlantis will be cleared to return home.



Artists rendering of the Station robotic arm installing the truss segment. Credit:NASA	Spacewalker Pat Forrester rides on the end of the station's robotic arm to assist with the retraction of a solar array. Image credit:NASA TV


Astronauts Jim Reilly (on robot arm) and John "Danny' Olivas complete the delicate process of folding an older solar array so that it can be moved from its temporary location to its permanent home during a shuttle mission this fall. Credit:NASA	Artists rendering of shuttle's robot arm used to position EVA astronaut to perform blanket repair. Credit:NASA

More STS-117 images:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/index.html

From servicing unmanned satellites in the dark reaches of space with no human intervention, to servicing the largest manned orbiting laboratory, MDA's advanced robotic systems have repeatedly demonstrated flexibility and utility that will pave the way to explore the moon, Mars and beyond.

MDA provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance of business and government organizations worldwide.

Focused on markets and customers with strong repeat business potential, MDA delivers a broad spectrum of earth and space based information solutions, ranging from complex operational systems, to tailored information services, to electronic information products.

MDA employs more than 3,000 people in locations across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TSX:MDA.